Kids Physcis Text Book PDF

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NEW CENTURY
SENIOR
PHYSICS
Concepts in context
SECOND EDITION
Richard Walding
Greg Rapkins
Glenn Rossiter
2
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3
253 Normanby Road, South Melbourne, Australia
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the
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OXFORD is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain
other countries
Richard Walding, Greg Rapkins, Glenn Rossiter 2004
First edition published 1999
This edition published 2004
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study,
research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be repro-
duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission.
Enquiries to be made to Oxford University Press.
Copying for educational purposes
Where copies of part or the whole of the book are made under Part VB of the Copyright
Act, the law requires that prescribed procedures be followed. For information, contact the
Copyright Agency Limited.
The National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry for your
forthcoming publication is as follows:
Walding, Richard.
New century senior physics: concepts in context.
2nd ed.
Includes index.
For year 11 and 12 students.
ISBN 0 19 551777 6.
1. PhysicsTextbooks. I Rapkins, Greg. II. Rossiter, Glen. III. Title.
530
Typeset by Currency Communications Australia
Printed through Bookpac Production Services, Singapore
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CONTENTS
Table of contexts and chapters
Preface vi
Acknowledgments vii
UNIT 01 MEASUREMENT AND PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

CHAPTER 1 Measurement and physical quantities 2
UNIT 02 F O R C E S A N D M OT I O N
CHAPTER 2 Motion in a straight line 26
CHAPTER 3 Vectors and graphing 56
CHAPTER 4 Forces in action 74
CHAPTER 5 Projectile, circular and periodic motion 108
CHAPTER 6 Astrophysics 134
CHAPTER 7 Hydrostatics: The physics of fluids 164
UNIT 03 ENERGY AND MOMENTUM

CHAPTER 8 Momentum 184
CHAPTER 9 Work and energy 211
UNIT 04 THERMAL PHYSICS

CHAPTER 10 Heat and temperature 240
CHAPTER 11 Heat and matter 254
CHAPTER 12 Heat transfer 271
UNIT 05 WAV E M OT I O N
CHAPTER 13 Wave motion in one dimension 284
CHAPTER 14 Wave motion in two dimensions 305
CHAPTER 15 Light A wave? 320
CHAPTER 16 Sound, music and audio technology 348
UNIT 06 OPTICS
CHAPTER 17 Reflection of light 382
CHAPTER 18 Refraction 400
CHAPTER 19 Lenses 418
CHAPTER 20 Optical instruments 429
III
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UNIT 07 ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRONICS

CHAPTER 21 Electrostatics 444
CHAPTER 22 Electric circuits 466
CHAPTER 23 Electronics 501
CHAPTER 24 Electronic systems 524
UNIT 08 MAGNETISM AND ELECTROMAGNETISM

CHAPTER 25 Magnetism and electromagnetism 548
CHAPTER 26 Electromagnetic induction 576
UNIT 09 ATO M I C A N D N U C L E A R P H Y S I C S
CHAPTER 27 Atomic structure 596
CHAPTER 28 Nuclear physics 616
CHAPTER 29 Quantum physics and fundamental particles 654
UNIT 10 E X T E N S I O N TO P I C S
CHAPTER 30 Special and general relativity 680
CHAPTER 31 Designing practical electronic circuits 710
CHAPTER 32 Solar physics 731
CHAPTER 33 Medical physics 745
Answers 761
Glossary 770
Appendices 776
Index 783
IV Contents
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This text has been written to support a variety of popular contexts. The following table shows
the link between these contexts and the chapters that support them.
CONTEXT CHAPTER
Amusement parks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9
Ancient technologies 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9
Atmospheric physics 7, 11, 12, 15, 16, 21, 32
Automobiles electrical system 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31
Charge it! 21, 22
Designing practical electronic circuits 31
Electric effects on humans 22
Electronic systems 24
Fluids and floating 4, 7
Food and cooking 10, 11, 12
Forensic science 8, 9
Gravity and space physics 4, 6, 30
Heat and the environment 10, 11, 12
History of measurement 1
Household electricity 22, 26
Medical physics 33
Music and audio production 15
Nuclear bombs 27, 28
Nuclear power 27, 28
Optical instruments 20
Particle physics and cosmology 27, 29, 30
Revolutionary and landmark developments 30
Robotics 31
Scientific and industrial uses radioisotopes 27, 28
Sight and seeing 17, 18, 19, 20
Solar physics 32
Sport 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9
Sporting collisions and explosions 8, 9
Transport and safety 2, 3, 4, 8, 9
V
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P R E FA C E
This is a fully revised edition of New Century Senior Physics and is designed to complement
the 2004 Queensland Senior Physics Syllabus. The new syllabus is about learning in context.
This book continues to provide a rich source of contextual detail as the key concepts are
developed. The research literature suggests that concepts are best understood when they are
presented in more than one context, and we have done this over and over again. We have also
tried to maintain the arrangement of material so that teachers and students have little diffi-
culty in finding what they want. This text will be a great resource for students and teachers
alike as they seek to understand the world from a physics perspective.
Students
Dont be alarmed at the amount of work in this book. Theres more than enough for a
two-year course. Your teacher will often be saying were not doing this for assessment
in our course. The rest of the text you may well treat as extra background material or
read just for your own interest.
You might think that some questions are too easy or repetitive. We intended this.
Expert problem solvers practise the easy work until it becomes automatic. Become
that sort of person.
You might also think that our worked examples are laborious. As you learn physics,
youll develop your own shortcuts. Remember there is no one right way to solve a
problem. Developing these techniques is what physics is about.
If you get stuck, have a look at our web page on the Internet. Youll find worked
solutions to selected questions. Find us at:
http://www.mbc.qld.edu.au/oxford/physics.html
Teachers
Choosing a text is the easy part; knowing what to put in your course is harder. This
text should support most of the contexts you would want, as it is based on the most
popular contexts chosen by teachers for their school work programs.
Any suggestions are welcome from you or your students. Please e-mail us at school.
The e-mail addresses are on the web page at www.mbc.qld.edu.au/oxford/physics.html
Examples of a wide range of contexts, work programs, sample assessment tasks,
discussion papers and networking opportunities can be found on the 2004 Senior
Physics Syllabus web page at www.mbc.qld.edu.au/physics/sp.html
We have included a huge range of questions and stimulus material, providing both
practice and assessment opportunities for students. They include open and/or closed
tasks inviting open or closed responses. Questions and tasks presented are suitable
as practice and exemplars of written tests, extended response tasks (assignments
and stimulus-response items) and extended experimental investigations.
Please make your students aware of both web addresses. Students have found them
very useful in the past.
Richard Walding, Greg Rapkins and Glenn Rossiter
VI
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank:
their families for their help and perseverance during the production of this book
students from dozens and dozens of schools who contacted us with comments about
improvements to the text, queries about questions and alternative solutions
colleagues on the QSA Science Subject Advisory Committee, the Physics Syllabus
Sub-committee and the Physics State and District Panels for their thoughts on what
a textbook should be like if it is to support their schools work program
the physics teachers in the Trial Pilot schools whose discussions about choices of
learning experiences and the development of interesting and useful contexts gave
us great ideas for inclusion in this text.
The authors and publisher wish to thank the following authors and copyright holders for
granting permission to reproduce their material:
Extract from Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 191, No. 11,
1987, reprinted by permission of the American Veterinary Medical Association; Extract from
Fundamentals of Physics 3rd Edition, 1988, by David Halliday and Robert Resnick, this mate-
rial is used by permission of John Wiley and Sons Inc; Extract from Advanced Physics 4th
Edition, 1994, by Tom Duncan, published by John Murray, reprinted in adapted form by per-
mission of Hodder Murray.
The publishers and authors would like to thank the following copyright holders for permission
to reproduce copyright photographs:
ANT Photo Library/I. R. McCann, photo 17.3;
Dale Mann/Retrospect, photos 17.1, 17.2, 20.1;
Dale Mann/Retrospect and Physics Department, Glen Waverley Campus, Wesley College, photos
14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 15.3, 18.1, 18.3;
Dick Smith Electronics, colour resistor code, centre colour pages;
Jan Curtis, images of the aurora, centre colour pages;
Kanehara & Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, Ishihara colour blindness card, inside cover;
Magellan/Thales, 30.4;
NASA, photos 4.1, 6.2, 6.5, 6.6, 30.3, 30.6;
National Measurement Laboratory, photo 1.1;
Photodisc, inside covers;
Sport the Library/Sporting Pictures UK Ltd, 2.4 and centre colour pages;
Stock Photos, photos 7.3, 8.1, 12.2;
The Photo Library, Sydney, photos 6.3, 6.4, 7.2, 15.5 and inside cover, 18.2, 28.1, 28.2, 30.1,
32.1, 33.1;
The Picture Source/Terry Oakley, inside covers.
Every effort has been made to trace the original source of copyright material contained in this book.
The publisher would be pleased to hear from copyright holders to rectify any errors or omissions.
KEY
Experimental Stimulus
Investigations Response
Non-experimental
Investigations
VII
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UNIT 01
Measurement & Physical Quantities
CHAPTER 01
Measurement and Physical Quantities
1.1 MEASUREMENT
Physics, like the other sciences, is all about explaining the natural world. Measurement is at
its very heart. Ever since humans have been thinking about their place in the universe, they
have been making measurements. Have you ever wondered about any of these:
What would have been the first sort of measurement made by humans?
When you use the unit of length, foot, whose foot was the standard?
What is the shortest length of time that can exist? Is there no limit?
Time passes but why cant it go backwards?
Just how heavy is the universe? How did they weigh it?
Is cream more dense than milk and, anyway, who invented density?
Questions like these have always intrigued people. As you study physics some of them will
become clearer. But hopefully you will ask your own questions and make your own measure- N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
ments, for this is what the study of physics is all about. Here are a few Fermi questions
(named after US physicist Enrico
A c t i v i t y 1 . 1 E S T I M AT I N G Fermi, who used to drive his
students nuts with them).
A How quickly does hair grow?
1 Estimate the length of this page to the nearest millimetre. Now measure it.
B How many piano tuners are
Were you over or under? there in your capital city?
2 Now that youve had practice, estimate the length of this line: C How many ping-pong balls
can you fit in a suitcase?
D How quickly does grass grow?
Were you any more accurate?
3 How far is it from the floor to the ceiling? Write down your estimate and then
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
find the actual value.
The four compass directions
4 Can you estimate 30 seconds? Look at your watch, cover it and uncover it when North, East, South, West
you think 30 seconds is up. Repeat it until you are accurate to within 1 second. are derived from old foreign
How did you count off the seconds? How did others in the class count off the words. Can you match up the
seconds? original meanings with the
compass directions:
5 How good are you at estimating mass? Estimate the mass of this book in grams A Indoeuropean wes = Sun
without lifting it and then again after lifting it. Did you lift it up and down to goes down.
estimate mass? Why? B Italian nerto = to the left
as one faces the Sun.
6 Feel the thickness of one page of this book. How many pages do you estimate
C German suntha = region in
this book has? Check.
which the Sun appears in
the Northern Hemisphere.
D Indoeuropean aus = Sun rises.
2 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Estimating measurements is important. You can see whether answers are reasonable or
nonsense if you have a feeling for some of the common units of measurement in physics. The
If you were transported in a time three quantities youve measured in the activity are the most basic measurements in physics:
machine to an unknown date in length, time and mass. But your estimates probably differed from others in your class
Australian history, how could you and thats why standards were developed. The importance of measurement grew as human
work out the date? See our Web societies became more complex.
page for some suggestions. The first measurement the earliest humans are believed to have used was the day. Hence,
the day became the first unit of measurement, well before any concept of length or mass.
Which unit do you think came next? Perhaps the month from one new moon or full moon
to the next; and then perhaps the year when people noticed that the Sun rose again in the
same constellation of stars after many new moons.
Neanderthal burial sites from 50 000 years ago suggest that people were conscious of the
past, the present and the future something that most other animals are believed to be
unaware of.
As humans have progressed, so too has their need for new units of measurement. The
need for a unit comes before a unit is invented. Only recently have units like the barn been
invented. The size of a nucleus as seen by a high speed atomic particle is as big as the side
of a barn, hence the name. One barn equals 1028 m2. There was no need for this unit until
Einstein produced the theory of relativity and physicists applied it to atomic structure.
P H Y S I C A L Q UA N T I T I E S 1.2
There are a number of things in the world we want to measure. As well as the three mentioned
above (length, time and mass), there are others, such as temperature, electric current
and weight. These measurable features are called physical quantities. There are also some
non-physical quantities, for example intelligence, beauty and personality, that are difficult-
to-measure. Attempts have been made to devise measurements for quantities such as these
but have always ended up in disagreement and, in many cases, failure.
The international system of units called SI (from the French name for the system,
Systme International dUnits), is now commonly used around the world. It is sometimes
called the metric system (from the Greek metron to measure).
The seven fundamental (or base) units of this system are shown in Table 1.1.
Ta b l e 1 . 1 S I U N I T S
PHYSICAL QUANTITY SYMBOL OF QUANTITY NAME OF UNIT SYMBOL FOR UNIT
Length l metre m
Mass m kilogram kg
Time t second s
Electric current I ampere A
Temperature T kelvin K
Amount of substance n mole mol
Luminous intensity candela cd
To get multiples of the base units, prefixes are added. Table 1.2 lists some of these
prefixes that will be used throughout your physics course. You should remember from nano to
mega. Check with your teacher if you need any others.
Measurement and Physical Quantities 3

Ta b l e 1 . 2 P R E F I X E S N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
You have two 100-page volumes
PREFIX SYMBOL MEANING VALUE FACTOR of a dictionary on your shelf.
Pico p one million-millionth 0.000 000 000 001 1012 A worm eats its way from
Nano n one thousand-millionth 0.000 000 001 109 Volume 1 page 1 through to
Micro one millionth 0.000 001 106 Volume 2 page 100.
Milli m one thousandth 0.001 103 How many pages does it eat
Centi c one hundredth 0.01 102 through?
Deci d one tenth 0.1 101
Kilo k one thousand 1 000 103
Mega M one million 1 000 000 106
Giga G one thousand million 1 000 000 000 109
Tera T one million million 1 000 000 000 000 1012 V
O V
L O
Example of using a prefix with a unit: 1 millimetre = 103
metre = 0.001 metre. L
Rarely used prefixes are: 1
2
1015 femto (f) radius of a proton is 1 fm
1021 zepto (z) charge on the electron is 160 zC
1024 yocto (y) mass of the hydrogen atom is 1.66 yg
1027 xenno (x) magnetic moment of a proton is 14 xJ T1
1021 zetta (Z) distance to Andromeda galaxy is 20 Zm
1024 yotta (Y) mass of the Earth is 5977 Yg.
Others youd never use are vendeko (v) 1033 and vendeka (V) 1033. Can you think of any prac-
tical use of these prefixes? Mathematicians also use the term googol to represent 10100 and
100
googolplex for 10 raised to the power of a googol: 1010 . The biggest number in the world
(apart from infinity) is Grahams number. If all the material in the world was turned into paper
there still wouldnt be enough paper to write it down. Now thats big!
Standards
Standards have to be agreed upon for units to be useful throughout the world. For instance,
the temperatures in different countries couldnt be compared until a universal temperature
scale was devised. The following shows how some of these units have developed.
A
B
D
A fathom E
B yard
C cubit
D span
E palm Figure 1.1
F digit Body measurements.

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Length
Consider the Earth to have a As with most early units, people used the most convenient measures themselves. The
circumference of 40 000 km and length of a foot or a stride was a convenient measure. So was the span of a hand or the
a ribbon to be put tightly around thickness of a thumb. But as civilisations grew, these ways of measuring became inadequate.
it. If you cut the ribbon and How could a foot be used as a measure when one persons foot was so much longer than
inserted a 30 cm piece, how far
anothers? Hands and thumbs were different too. In ancient times a measure that was used
would the ribbon be from the
in one country was often later adopted by others through trade or invasion. Roman measures
earth if it was evenly spaced?
spread throughout Europe, Asia, England and Africa as the Romans conquered and occupied
these lands but gradually, through mistakes in copying and figuring, the standards became so
tight ribbon
confused that most of them dropped out of use. By the sixteenth century most people in
Europe had returned to the old body measurements and we still use some of these today.
The shortest unit of length was the digit, the width of a finger, or three-quarters of an
inch. An inch is the width of a thumb; a hand is four inches and the span is nine inches.
To try to standardise these units, Edward II of England ruled that one inch shall be equal to
three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end lengthwise.
The foot was about 11.5 inches in Greece, 12 inches in England and other English speak-
ing countries, and 11 to 14 inches anywhere else. The earliest attempt to standardise the foot
was in 2100 BC when it was decreed that a foot was the length of the foot of the statue of the
ribbon + 30 cm ruler of Gudea of Lagash in Babylonia. It was 10.41 inches long and divided into 16 parts.
The pace was another common measure. It was about 5 feet the length of two com-
plete steps. Roman soldiers paced off the miles as they marched. A thousand paces made up
a mile, just a little less than the modern mile, which is 5280 feet. Now we measure a pace as
?
a single step about 2.5 feet.
Lastly, the yard. The yard was defined in two ways: in northern Europe it was the length
of an Anglo-Saxons belt whereas in the south it was a double cubit. A cubit is 18 inches
the distance from the elbow to the wrist. Henry I, at the beginning of the twelfth century,
fixed the yard as the distance from his nose to the thumb of his outstretched arm.
The metric system (SI) was invented by the French in 1790, following the French
Revolution. It was a part of a plan for a new beginning, a whole new social and economic life
in France, without any ties to the past. The metre, the basic unit of length, was supposed to
be one ten-millionth part of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator. But in the
eighteenth century instruments were not as accurate as they are today, so there was a
measurement error. By the time the error was realised, the metre was so well established at
39.37 inches that it was left at that.
A platinumiridium bar exactly this distance long was made and this became the
standard for the metre. In 1960 the standard metre was redefined to be the length equal to
1 650 763.73 wavelengths in a vacuum of the red-orange light emitted by the krypton-86
atom. Since 1983, however, the metre has been redefined as the length of the path travelled
by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
Ta b l e 1 . 3 S O M E L E N G T H S
LENGTH METRES LENGTH METRES
Quick now is a physics lesson To furthest quasar 1026 Thickness of a page 104
longer or shorter than a
To nearest star 1016 Radius of H atom 1010
microcentury?
To Pluto 1013 Radius of a proton 1015
Radius of Earth 107
Time
The first way of measuring time was to keep a record of the repetition of natural events. From
sunrise to sunrise was the most fundamental of periods as it was so easy to measure and
hence the day became the first unit of time. We do not know how long ago people started
using the idea of days but it would certainly have been tens of thousands of years ago.

People realised that the Sun and the Moon were the best timekeepers of all. They called N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
the time taken for the Earth to make one orbit of the Sun a year. We now know it to be 365
days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.7 seconds long. The extra hours, minutes and seconds are In the first paragraph of Charles
collected together every 4 years to make the additional day we have in a leap year. To keep Dickens The Pickwick Papers
he states that he was at the
the timing more accurate, the start of a century is classified as a non-leap year.
bottom of a deep well and could
The length of a day is fixed by the Earths rotation on its axis. But at different times of
see the stars in the daytime.
the year the length of the day varies from place to place so we have to take this into account. Aristotle made the same claim
What we end up with is the mean solar day but its duration is now standardised in terms of in On the Generation of Animals
the hour, minute and second. in 350 BC.
It was the ancient Babylonians who divided their measurements into sixty parts and we Is this possible? Propose points
have kept their divisions for the hour and minute. A minute is 60 seconds and an hour is 60 for and against this idea. See the
minutes. The fundamental unit, the second, is now defined as the time for 9 192 631 770 Web page for an answer.
vibrations of light (of a specified frequency) emitted by a caesium-133 atom. In principle,
two caesium clocks would have to run for 6000 years before they differed by 1 second. In
practice, atomic clocks do better than that. The latest Hewlett Packard 5071A caesium clock
achieves an accuracy of 1 second in 1.6 million years and only costs about $90 000. Some P H Y S I C S U P DAT E
experimental clocks are within 1 second in 30 billion years. Every physics lab should have one. The Time Service Department, US
But a fundamental question about time has always bothered physicists. What does the Naval Observatory, Washington,
passage of time mean? What is the difference between the past and the future apart from the DC provides time signals for use
passage of time? Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman said, We physicists work throughout the USA and other
with time every day but dont ask me what it is. Its just too difficult to think about. parts of the world. You can access
their clock on the Internet at
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/what.
Ta b l e 1 . 4 S O M E T I M E I N T E R VA L S html and even set your
computers clock against their
TIME INTERVAL SECONDS master signal.
Lifetime of a proton 1039
Age of the universe 1018
Age of the pyramid at Cheops 1011
Human life expectancy 109 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Length of a day 105
* This is known as Planck time the earliest time after The world is broken up into many
Physics lesson 104 the Big Bang at which the laws of physics as we know time zones based on the
Lifetime of a muon 106 them can be applied.
longitude of the various regions.
Shortest time interval known* 1043
Queensland is 1/2 hour ahead of
South Australia, for instance.
But what time zone is the South
Mass Pole? No emailing Casey Station
to find out.
Measurements of mass and weight came a long time after measurements of length and time.
An early way of thinking about weight was the amount a person could carry. At first, people
compared weight by balancing small objects, one in each hand, and estimating whether one
was heavier than another. About 7000 years ago, the Egyptians devised a crude scale a P H Y S I C S FA C T
stick hanging by a cord tied around its middle acting as a balance. By 3000 BC small stone The word hour comes from the
weights were used as a comparison, but as trade developed, different weights were used for Greek word meaning season.
different objects. Honey, medicine and metal all had different units of weight, many of which The length of daylight depends
have persisted into modern times. For example, the avoirdupois system of weights includes on the season. The word day
ounces, pounds and the ton. Grain was measured in bushels; liquids were measured in pints comes from the Saxon word to
and gallons or in the case of oil, in barrels. But no mention in early history has been made of burn, referring to the hot days
the quantity known as mass. of summer.
Mass and weight are different quantities but people use them as if they mean the same
thing. In Chapter 4 you will see the difference. Mass is a measure of an objects resistance to
motion when being pushed or pulled. A 1 kilogram mass will be just as hard to push around
no matter where in the universe it is. Weight, on the other hand, is a measure of the force of
gravity acting on an object and will vary depending on how strong gravity is in that place.
But weight has always been the quantity people have associated with heaviness; after all,

gravity is fairly constant all over the world and it hasnt been until the twentieth century that
humans have left the Earth to go into space. More importantly though, the concept of mass
Under the system of measurement was not developed until the 1680s when English scientist Isaac Newton proposed a relation-
adopted during the reign of ship between force and acceleration that profoundly affected the new science of mechanics.
Queen Elizabeth I: This idea will be developed further in Chapter 4.
1 mouthful = 1 cubic inch Mass is a fundamental quantity and the kilogram has been adopted as the fundamental
1 handful = 2 mouthfuls unit of mass in the SI or metric system. The standard kilogram is a platinumiridium cylinder
1 jack = 2 handfuls kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris. Accurate copies have
1 gill = 2 jacks been sent to other standardising laboratories in other countries and the masses of other
1 cup = 2 gills bodies can be determined by balancing them against a copy.
1 pint = 2 cups
1 quart = 2 pints Ta b l e 1 . 5 S O M E M A S S E S
If 1 cubic inch = 14.7 mL, how
many cups to 1 litre? OBJECT KILOGRAMS
Universe 1053
Our galaxy 1041
Sun 1030
Moon 1023
Ocean liner 108
Human 102
Grape 103
Speck of dust 109
Penicillin molecule 1017
Uranium atom 1026
Proton 1027
Electron 1030
Photo 1.1 Neutrino 1030
The standard kilogram. Uranium atom 1026
A c t i v i t y 1 . 2 B I G G E S T, L O N G E S T A N D O L D E S T
Use the Guinness Book of Records, the Internet or an encyclopaedia to find out the
following facts about units of measurement:
1 The highest artificial temperature on Earth was in a fusion reactor in the USA in
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E 1994. How hot did it get?
This book is printed on paper
2 How long can people go without food or water? Has anyone made it past
classified as 80 gsm (80 grams
18 days?
per square metre). The cover is
made of 249 gsm paper. 3 What are the masses of the heaviest man and woman ever recorded? How many
What should the mass of this times greater than that of the lightest person are they?
book be? Check it and see.
4 Gold is the most ductile element known it can be drawn into a very fine wire.
What went wrong?
How many metres of wire can be produced from 1 g of gold?
Derived units
New quantities can be made up of the base quantities. These are called derived quantities.
For example, you can have combinations of the base units, such as metres per second and
cubic metres or you can have derived quantities that have been given specific names, such as
newton, coulomb and watt.

Table 1.6 lists some derived quantities.

P H Y S I C S FA C T
Ta b l e 1 . 6 S O M E D E R I V E D Q UA N T I T I E S On his fourth voyage to the
New World, Spanish explorer
DERIVED QUANTITY UNIT SYMBOL FOR UNIT Christopher Columbus was
marooned in Jamaica and, after a
Acceleration metre per second2 m s2
while, the local Indians refused
Angle radian rad to provide food. He knew that
Area metre2 m2 there would be an eclipse at
Capacitance farad F noon on 29 February 1504 so he
Density kilogram per metre3 kg m3 summoned the chiefs aboard and
Electric charge coulomb C told them that unless they gave
Energy joule J him food God would blacken the
Force newton N sky. When they refused, the sky
Frequency hertz Hz went black right on time and
Momentum kilogram-metre per second kg m s1 when they relented he made the
sky go back to normal. Then the
Potential difference volt V
Spanish began the systematic
Power watt W
plunder and destruction of an
Pressure pascal Pa entire civilisation. Ah, no wonder
Resistance ohm science gets a bad name.
Velocity metre per second m s1
Volume metre3 m3
A c t i v i t y 1 . 3 WO R K I N G S C I E N T I F I C A L LY
Physicists spend their professional lives investigating relationships between physical
quantities. In 1665 Robert Hooke described the relationship between the length of a German researcher Gnther
spring and the stress (force) applied to it. Currently, physicists are trying to work out Bumler found that people with
how the fundamental forces of nature are related to each other. In the three activities the surname Smith (Schmidt in
that follow, you will set up some experiments, collect data and look for relationships German) had, on average, a body
mass that was 2.4 kg greater
between some of the physical quantities mentioned earlier.
than people with the name
Part A: The bent ruler Taylor (Schneider).
1 Clamp a 30 cm steel ruler to the edge of a bench leaving most of it overhanging. How would you test his findings
in your school? What other
Measure the distance from the floor to the tip of the ruler. (See Figure 1.2.)
variables would affect your
2 Add a 50 g mass to the tip and record how many centimetres the ruler has bent results? Check our web page for
from its unladen position. This is called its displacement. why this difference occurs.
3 Add another 50 g mass and record the total displacement. Then another 50 g and
so on until 300 g has been added.
4 Plot a graph of displacement (y-axis) versus mass added (x-axis).
(a) Does the graph go through the origin (0, 0)? If so, why?
(b) How many centimetres does the ruler bend per 100 g added? Express this as
cm per g.
(c) Show how the graph would look if you: (i) used a thicker ruler; (ii) used a
wider ruler; (iii) used a plastic ruler; (iv) allowed only 20 cm to overhang;
(v) used a frozen ruler; (vi) used a steel ruler rapidly heated and cooled
(annealed); (vii) used a steel ruler heated and cooled slowly. Try it! For all
graphs you should provide a theoretical justification of your prediction.
steel ruler Figure 1.2

The bent ruler set-up for Part A.
bench
displacement
brass
clamp masses

Figure 1.3 Part B: Magnetic personality

Set-up for measuring the relationship
The force between two magnets varies with separation distance.
between magnetic force and distance
(Activity 1.3, Part B).
1 Place a bar magnet vertically upright on the pan of an electronic balance.
(See Figure 1.3.) Zero the balance.
2 Place another magnet in a clamp above the first magnet so that the unlike poles
face each other. There will be an attractive force, so the scale reading on the
balance should be a negative value.
S
3 Start with the end of the clamped magnet 50 cm from the magnet on the
N
balance and record a reading. If it is not zero, start with a 1 m separation (hold
S
it in your hand).
N
4 Reduce the separation distance (d ) by 5 cm at a time (or less if you like) and
take balance readings.
5 Plot the data with separation distance (in cm) on the x-axis, and scale reading
(grams) on the y-axis. If you are keen, convert the separation distance to
metres; and convert the scale reading to force in newtons (N) by dividing it
by 1000 and multiplying by 9.8.
Electronic
balance 6 Some questions:
(a) When the distance was halved (from 50 cm to 25 cm), by what factor did
the scale reading increase?
(b) Would you get the same results if you put the magnets into repulsion?
7 Now try plotting 1/d2 on the x-axis against the scale readings. Did something
magical occur?
Figure 1.4
Characteristics of a pendulum.
Part C: Let him swing!
support Three variables you could change about a pendulum are the length, the mass and the
distance through which it swings. (See Figure 1.4.) Using a lead fishing sinker or a brass
mass tied to a metre of fishing line, construct a pendulum and measure the time for one
swing at six different lengths. Keep the mass constant. Plot a graph. Keep your data for
Chapter 3.
length (L)
Converting units
bob It is often important to convert from one unit to another: for instance, from millimetres to
metres or from pounds to kilograms. Two types of conversions are involved:
From one SI unit to another.
From a non-SI unit to an SI unit.
The first type will be needed when data are given in one particular unit but the answer has
1 swing
to be given in another form. This might occur when some constant is involved that is in
a unit different from that of the data given. For example, if you had to calculate how far
you would travel in 10 minutes at a speed of 5 metres per second then you would convert
10 minutes to seconds (10 60 = 600) and multiply this number of seconds by the speed
(600 5 = 3000 metres).
Example
Imagine you have made measurements of a block of wood in a density experiment and need
to calculate its volume in cubic metres. Length 35 cm, breadth 2.0 cm, width 1.5 cm.

Step 1: Convert the measurements to SI units (metre):

length = 35 cm = 35 1 102 m = 0.35 m (3.5 101 m)
breadth = 2.0 cm = 2.0 1 102 m = 2.0 102 m In his 1997 book Number Sense,
width = 1.5 cm = 1.5 1 102 m = 1.5 102 m. Stanislas Dehaene reported that
Step 2: Calculate the volume: his tests on brilliant scientists in
France showed that it took them
volume = 0.35 m 2 102 m 1.5 102 m
longer to say whether 6 was
= 1.05 m 104 m3.
greater than 5 than it did to say
Some other simple examples are: whether 9 was greater than 5.
25 000 cm= 250 m (2.5 102 m) Propose a testable hypothesis
23 km = 23 000 m or 2.3 104 m that could be investigated.
6 hours = 21 600 s or 2.16 104 s.
The other type of conversion is from a non-SI unit to an SI unit. This could occur, for
instance, when data come from another source such as from some domestic measurement; N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
from another country or from data taken in the past. The United States has yet to adopt SI People shrink in height not only
units for daily use although all science, engineering and medical units throughout the world as they get older, but also during
have been changed to SI. For instance, you may have to convert the mass of a person from each day. Some of our students
pounds to kilograms. The conversion factor is 1 kg = 2.204 622 341 pounds. (See Table 1.7.) 1
shrink by 1 2 cm between first
and last lesson. What is the
Ta b l e 1 . 7 S O M E N O N - S I C O N V E R S I O N FA C TO R S reason for this? Can you find
factual support for your
NON-SI UNIT SI UNIT suggestion? Do you think taller
Inch (in) 2.54 centimetres people shrink more than shorter
Yard (yd) 0.914 401 8 metre ones? Does everyone shrink by a
certain percentage? Do younger
Gallon (gal) 4.546 litres
and older people shrink by the
Pound mass (lb) 0.453 592 37 kilogram
same percentage?
Pound weight (lb) 4.45 newtons
Mile (mi) 1.609 kilometres
Acre (ac) 0.404 687 hectare P H Y S I C S FA C T
Pound per square inch (psi) 6896 pascals A very old unit of length was
Horsepower (Hp) 746 watts cubitthe length of the arm
from elbow to fingertips. It
comes from the Latin cubitum,
Questions meaning elbow. The Egyptian
royal cubit was 542 mm long,
1 From the following, select (a) two fundamental quantities; (b) two fundamental
and a master cubit of black
units; (c) two non-SI units: yard, luminous intensity, ampere, year, minute,
granite was kept in a royal vault.
temperature, force, second, pressure. All the cubit sticks in use in
2 Convert the speed of light (3 108 m s1) to (a) km h1; (b) miles per hour. Egypt were measured at regular
3 Convert the following: (a) 10.3 m to cm; (b) 1.25 cm to m; (c) 1120 cm to m; intervals. For example, the Great
(d) 143 367 mm to m; (e) 1.8 mm to m; (f) 14 cm2 to m2; (g) 4.8 cm3 to m3. Pyramid of Giza was 280 royal
4 (a) Japanese sumo wrestlers have to be a minimum of 5 feet 8 inches tall. cubits (RC) high. Other cubits
How many centimetres is this? (1 foot = 12 inches and 1 inch = 2.54 cm.) include the biblical cubit of
(b) The heaviest baby ever born was 23 lb 10 oz. If there are 16 ounces (oz) in 457.2 mm.
1 pound (lb) and 1 pound equals 0.454 kg, convert the babys mass to kg.
1.3 S C I E N T I F I C N OTAT I O N
Things in the world are not always human-sized. Some are very small; some are huge. The
numbers used to express these measurements can get messy. For example, the time taken for
light to travel from one side of an atom to the other is about one billion billion billion
billionths of a second. The mass of the Sun is two thousand billion billion billion kilograms.
In his book A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking mentions that the publisher told him
not to use any numerals. All numbers had to be spelt out because, it was argued, people

couldnt understand exponents and wouldnt buy a book with them in. So, the speed of light
appears as three hundred million metres per second.The time after the Big Bang that it took
Humans have 1014 cells at a for electrons to be created was a thousand billion billion billion billion billionths of a second.
diameter of 0.01 mm each. You probably know of a simpler way of expressing these values.
If they were placed in a line, A shorthand means of expressing such numbers is called exponential notation. For
how many times around the example:
Earth would they go? (The radius
1 million (1 000 000) is written as 106.
of the Earth is 6.38 x 106 m.)
1 billion (1 000 000 000) is written as 109.
1 millionth (1/1 000 000 or 0.000 001) is written as 106.
1 billionth (1/1 000 000 000 or 0.000 000 001) is written as 109.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Exponents tell us how many times 10 must be multiplied together and hence give the
A brochure for the 1963 Ford number of zeros. The expression 103 means 10 multiplied by itself three times (10 10 10);
Falcon said it averaged 26 miles in other words, 1 with three zeros following it (1000).
per gallon of petrol. A 2002 When writing numbers using exponents, it is common practice to use scientific notation.
Falcon is reported to use 12 L of This involves the following conventions:
petrol per 100 km. Write numbers in exponential notation with just one numeral before the decimal
(a) Which is the more point, that is, the EarthMoon distance of 382 million kilometres could be expressed
economical? as 382 106 km or in scientific notation as 3.82 108 km.
(b) Develop a formula to
Leave numbers between 0.1 and 100 as they are. There is no need to express 60
convert mpg to L/100 km.
seconds as 6.0 101 s although you should be guided by your teacher on this matter.
(c) In 1963, the standard Falcon
engine had a capacity of Example
170 cubic inches, whereas the Write the following in scientific notation:
2002 Falcon has a 4.5 litre (a) The speed of light three hundred million metres per second.
engine. Which is the bigger?
(b) The diameter of a red blood cell 2 millionths of a metre (0.000 002 m).
Solution
(a) Three hundred million is 300 106 so the speed of light can be written as
3.00 108 m s1.
(b) 0.000 002 is written as 2.0 106.
As you can see, with scientific notation only one numeral appears before the decimal
place. The exponent has to be adjusted to allow for this. For example, when the number
300 106 became 3.00 108, the decimal point in 300 was shifted two places to the left
(made smaller) to become 3.00, so to compensate, the exponent has to be increased by two
units from 106 to 108 (made bigger).
Negative exponents are used to indicate numbers less than unity. For example, an elec-
tron has a mass of 0.000 549 units. To make this 5.49, we have to shift the decimal point
four places to the right (made bigger by 10 000), so an exponent has to be included that
compensates for this. In scientific notation it would be 5.49 104 units.
Further examples
(a) The radius of the Earth is 696 million metres or 6.96 108 m.
(b) The diameter of Saturn is 120 thousand kilometres or 1.20 105 km.
(c) The diameter of an atom is 0.000 000 000 1 m or 1.0 1010 m.
Care must be taken when entering numbers in exponential notation in a calculator. On a
scientific calculator, to enter the number 6.96 108, press the buttons 6.96 EXP 8. The dis-
play should read 6.9608. A common error is to enter this as 6.96 10 EXP 8. This is wrong.
The display would read 6.9607, which means 6.96 107. To enter an exponent such as 104 by
itself you have to imagine that it means 1 104 and enter it as such. Remember, the EXP but-
ton symbolises the base, which is 10. It is one of the most common mistakes students make
and a sure cause of lost marks in tests. When entering negative exponents, the +/ button is
pressed after the exponent. A graphing calculator is different, but the problem is the same.
In some computer languages, exponents can be written in a different form. A number
such as 6.96 107 would be written as 6.96E7 where the E stands for exponent. With an
exponent of 107 this would be written as 6.96E7.

Questions
5 (a) Which is the larger out of (i) one hundred thousandths of a second
and (ii) one one hundred thousandth of a second? (b) How can you make it
100 1
clear whether you are talking about 1000 s or 100 000 s when you are expressing
these numbers in words? (c) Write both numbers in scientific notation.
6 Write the following in scientific notation: (a) 0.000 552; (b) 73 000 000;
(c) one and a half million; (d) 0.000 250.
7 Work out the following on your calculator: (a) 1.2 103 2.2 104;
(b) 1.8 103 (6.4 108).
8 Calculate the volume of an atom of diameter 0.000 000 001 m.
1.4 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

When you say that its 100 metres to the shop you are not really saying that this is the
distance to the nearest metre. You are being approximate. You have not measured it it
could be 80 m or it could be 150 m. But the distance between the start and finish of a N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
100 m sprint race has to be 100 m and this has to be to the nearest centimetre. How would
you write these distances? They are both 100 m. Famous biologist Charles Darwin
It is common practice in science to record all integers that are certain and one more in described the size of a canary
which there is some uncertainty. The integers known with certainty plus the next figure are finch in one of his notebooks
32
called significant figures (sf). Imagine you used a metre ruler marked in centimetres and as 3 64 inches long.
1
measured the width of a book as 30.4 cm. This number has three significant figures. The first Why didnt he just write 3 2 inches?
two integers are measured with certainty whereas the third is a mental estimate. The number Convert the original measurement
could also be written as 0.304 m. It still has three significant figures the first zero is only to centimetres using the correct
there to emphasise the location of the decimal point. Imagine you used the same ruler and number of significant figures.
measured the thickness of a book to be 6.3 cm. There are two significant figures the
.3 cm part is only a best guess, a mental estimate. In metres, this would be written as
0.063 m. There are still only two significant figures the two zeros only indicate the N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
position of the decimal point and are not significant.
In the English translation of a
Consider a ruler marked in millimetre divisions as your own ruler probably is. If you drew manual on violin playing by the
a line of length 10 mm, you would be drawing a line somewhere between about 9.5 mm and great HungarianGerman teacher
10.5 mm in length you probably cant be more accurate than that. In this case, the 1 is Carl Flesch, budding violinists
significant whereas the 0 is the next uncertain digit. There are two significant figures. But were told to lift your fingers
should it be written as 0.01 m or 0.010 m? You should write it as 0.010 m to show that the 0.3937 inches from the
zero following the 1 is significant but the first two zeros only indicate the decimal point. fingerboard.
If exactly 35 000 tickets to a football grand final were sold then there are five significant Why is this funny? What do you
figures. This is an exact figure, accurate to the last ticket, so all zeros are significant. In suppose the original measurement
scientific notation it would be written as 3.5000 104 tickets. If a crowd commentator was? Rewrite the inches
estimated the crowd size as thirty-five thousand then the figure is probably an estimate to measurement with the correct
number of significant figures.
the nearest thousand. It might be written in the paper as 35 000 but there are only two signi-
ficant figures the three zeros are not significant but are there to indicate where the
decimal point is located. In scientific notation this would be written as 3.5 104 people.
Sometimes significant zeros are indicated with a small bar above the numeral. The exact
- N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
figure of 35 000 people has a bar above the final zero whereas the commentators estimate
-
doesnt. If the crowd was estimated to the nearest hundred it could be written as 35 000, In a shop in North Walsham,
which indicates three significant figures. In scientific notation this would be written as Norfolk, the height restriction
3.50 104. This is a better way to specify significant figures. to its carpark is written as
2300 mm.
Rules Is there anything wrong with

this? Explain!
All non-zero figures are significant: 3.18 has three sf.
All zeros between non-zeros are significant: 30.08 has four sf.
Zeros to the right of a non-zero figure but to the left of the decimal point are not
significant (unless specified with a bar): 109 000 has three sf.

Zeros to the right of a decimal point but to the left of a non-zero figure are not
significant: in 0.050, only the last zero is significant; the first zero merely calls
At a dinosaur exhibit at attention to the decimal point.
the Queensland Museum, the Zeros to the right of the decimal point and following a non-zero figure are significant:

attendant said the
304.50 has five sf.
Muttaburrasaurus was 30 million
Some examples of the application of these rules are given in Table 1.8.
and 20 years old. How can you
be that accurate? asked a
student. Well I was told it was Ta b l e 1 . 8 E X A M P L E S
30 million years old when I
started work here and Ive been NUMBER NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT FIGURES SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
here 20 years. 0.003 5 2 3.5 103
How would you explain to the 0.003 50 3 3.50 103
attendant the folly of his
0.35 2 3.5 101
statement?
3.5 2 3.5 ( 100)
3.50 3 3.50 ( 100)
35 2 3.5 101
350 2 3.5 102
3500.003 5 8 3.500 003 5 103
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Note: normally, numbers between 0.1 and 100 are not written in exponential form but are
shown here for clarity.
The statement 19 is about
20 is reasonable.
Why then cant you say 20 is
almost 19? Explain.
Multiplying and dividing
A problem arises when performing calculations using significant figures. Imagine you had
to calculate the surface area of a road going through a sensitive koala habitat. The traffic
engineers said the road easement would be 95.5 m wide and 26 km long. When multiplying
95.5 26 000, the answer of 2 483 000 must show the correct number of significant figures.
The rule is: when multiplying or dividing, the answer should contain only as many significant
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E figures as that number involved in the operation that has the least number of significant
The rate at which hydrogen figures. In this case, 95.5 m has three significant figures and 26 000 m has two. The answer
is consumed on the Sun is should only have two, so it should be written as 2 500 000 m2 or 2.5 106 m2. Thats a lot of
proportional to the temperature bush.
(in kelvins) raised to the power Other examples are:
of 20 (rate T 20). How much 45.71 34.1 = 1558.711. This is rounded to 1560 or 1.56 103, which has three
faster is the rate at 6000 K significant figures (3 sf).
365 2.4 = 152.083 333 3. This is rounded to 150 or 1.5 102 (2 sf).
than it would be at 5000 K?
Rounding-off If you need to round-off you can use this rule: numerals lower than 5 round-
off to zero; numbers larger than 5 round-off to 10; when the number to be rounded off is 5
take it up to 10 if the number preceding is even, otherwise take it down to zero. For example:
when 16.586 is rounded off to four significant figures it becomes 16.59. When 24.65 is
rounded to three significant figures it becomes 24.7 as the 6 is even and hence the 5 is
rounded up to 10.
Addition and subtraction

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E If a 1575 g target is struck with a 2.55 g bullet, which becomes embedded in it, the mass of
On the side of Tesco lemonade the target is now 1575 g + 2.55 g = 1577.55 g. Or is it? The final mass has more significant
cans it reads: 8 kJ per 100 mL, figures than either the targets mass or the bullets mass. Intuitively this should sound wrong.
17 kJ per 200 mL. The final mass should be written as 1578 g. The rule is: calculations are rounded off to the
How can this be? least significant decimal place value in the data.
Examples
(a) 264.68 2.4711 = 262.2089 = 262.21.
(b) 2.345 + 3.56 = 5.905 = 5.90.

Questions
9 State the number of significant figures in each of the following: (a) 83.83;
(b) 20.0; (c) 5; (d) 22 050; (e) 100; (f) 100.010; (g) 1999; (h) 2.222 2;
(i) 40 000; (j) 0.050 70; (k) 0.000 000 200.
10 For the numbers in Question 9 above, write them out in scientific notation and use
the correct number of significant figures.
11 How many significant figures are there in the following: (a) 4.6 103;
(b) 1.00 105; (c) 6.07 106; (d) 3.300 1010?
12 Calculate the following and express in scientific notation to the correct number
of significant figures: (a) 12.3 m 34.14 m; (b) 3.5 102 m 2.18 104 m;
(c) 180 cm 2.5 s; (d) 1.18 cm 3.1416 cm; (e) 2.0 103 m 2.0 104 m.
13 Work out the following: (a) 5.2 m + 16.013 m + 24.37 m;
(b) 2.125 m + 11.473 2 m + 9.0124 m; (c) 3.0 103 m + 3.0 104 m;
(d) 4.0 103 cm + 5.0 102 cm; (e) 1.118 104 m + 2.34 106 m;
(f) 8.7 105 m + 3.5 102 m.
14 Calculate (2.34 kg + 1.118 kg) (1.05 cm 22.2 cm 0.9 cm).
15 A sheet of copper was measured as part of a density experiment. The dimensions
were: length 55.5 cm, breadth 2.0 cm, thickness 0.02 cm. Calculate (a) the area of
the largest surface; (b) the volume; (c) the perimeter of the largest face.
1.5 ORDER OF MAGNITUDE

When dealing with very large or very small numbers we are often only interested in an
approximate figure. For example, the remotest object known is the quasar RDJ030117 located
at a distance of 2.8 1022 km from Earth. It is just as meaningful to say it is 1022 km away.
This is said to be its order of magnitude (OM). Similarly, the mass of a hydrogen atom is
1.67 1027 kg, so its order of magnitude is 1027. The order of magnitude is the power of 10
closest to the number. However, when converting a number to its nearest 10, the rule is:
numerals greater than 3.16 become 10 and those below 3.16 become zero. The reason for this
is that 100.5 = 3.16.
Ta b l e 1 . 9 O R D E R O F M A G N I T U D E
MEASUREMENT DIMENSION ORDER OF MAGNITUDE
Distance to Andromeda galaxy 1.9 1022 m 1022 m
Distance to nearest star 4.0 1016 m 1017 m
Diameter of Earth 1.3 107 m 107 m
Thickness of a credit card 5.0 104 m 103 m
Thickness of a hair 2.8 105 m 105 m
Photo 1.2
Correcting zero error on an ammeter.
Calculations When estimating the order of magnitude of a mathematical calculation, it is
convenient to convert each number to its order of magnitude first.
Example
Determine the order of magnitude of this calculation: (3.0 1010) (8.4 106).
Solution
3.0 1010 has an OM of 1010; 8.4 106 has an OM of 107.
1010 107 equals 1017.
Note: the full answer is 2.52 1017, which does have an OM of 1017.

Questions
16 What is the order of magnitude of each of the following: (a) 1.8 1022;
(b) 3.9 1012; (c) 2.6 1010; (d) 5.8 1015; (e) 175 000; (f) 66 000;
(g) 0.000 002; (h) 0.000 65?
17 Estimate the order of magnitude of the answer for each of the following
calculations: (a) (6.2 1020) (3.8 1018); (b) (600) (10 108);
(c) 5.4 1012 3.1 1015.
MAKING AND RECORDING MEASUREMENTS 1.6

Figure 1.5 If you had to count the number of desks in your classroom you would get an exact figure but
Zero error. This voltmeter has a zero error
if you had to measure the width of a desk with a metre ruler your measurement would be an
of 0.4 volt. It can be zeroed by adjusting
it with a screwdriver (see Photo 1.2). approximation, probably to the nearest millimetre. Measurements, unlike numbers, can never
be exact because they all have some amount of error or uncertainty.
You can end up with errors in a measurement because of the limitations of the measur-
ing instrument or the conditions under which it was made. Such errors are not mistakes
4 6 because they are not someones fault. Some examples of errors include:
2 8
zero error, for example the pointer or the end of a ruler not on the zero mark to start
10
0
VOLTAGE with (See Figure 1.5.)

V
calibration error, for example a stopwatch that runs fast or slow, a thermometer badly
graduated, or a metal ruler that has expanded in the heat
parallax error, for example reading a clock at an angle so that the hand appears to be
over another number, reading a thermometer at an angle
reaction time, for example the delay in starting a stopwatch.
Figure 1.6
(a) A parallax error will occur
1.0 cm 1.15 cm
because there is a gap between (b) correct
1.0 cm 1.0 cm
(a) incorrect
the scale and the object being
measured. (b) There is no parallax
error as the scale and object 1 2
are touching.
Photo 1.4
If you did this you would have a
zero error of 4 mm.
Photo 1.3a Photo 1.3b

From directly above the reading From an angle there is parallax error
Figure 1.7 is 23.35 mm. and the reading is now 23.85 mm.
Scale division error on a thermometer.
The reading on this thermometer is
28C not 24C. Each scale division is
2C not 1C as may be thought. These errors can be classified into two main types:
systematic errors in which all of the readings are faulty in one direction and can be
usually corrected for by a simple calculation or improved experimental technique
30 (Zero errors and calibration errors are of this type.)
random errors, which are irregular errors of observation. Parallax error is an
20
example.
Mistakes are not errors in this context. If you misread a scale (Figure 1.7) by
miscalculating the value of each division, this is sometimes called a scale reading error but
10
is really just a mistake.

A c t i v i t y 1 . 4 PA R A L L A X E R R O R
Hold your arm outstretched in front of you with your thumb pointing up. With one eye
closed, line your thumb up with some mark on a wall in front of you. Close that eye and
open the other and note how many centimetres your thumb has shifted to the side of the
mark. Which eye was the more dominant? What are some ways of controlling parallax
error?
Scale reading limitations

Students generally read scales to the nearest mark or division. For example, the reading on Figure 1.8
the ruler shown in Figure 1.8 would generally be stated as 36 mm but it really looks closer to This ruler can be read to the nearest
0.5 mm.
36.5 mm than to 36.0 mm. A better reading would be 36.5 mm.
Some people would claim to be able to read to the nearest 0.1 mm but this seems overly
accurate for the type of scale used. A good rule is that scales should be read to the nearest m 20 30 40 50
half of a scale division. Rulers can be read to the nearest half-millimetre and laboratory
thermometers to the nearest 0.5C. An ammeter like the one shown in Figure 1.9 is best read
to the nearest 0.05 A.
Photo 1.5a Photo 1.5b Figure 1.9

A ruler calibrated in 1 mm divisions can be If the ruler was calibrated in 1 cm divisions, The ammeter scale has 0.1 A divisions,
read to the nearest 0.5 mm. In this case then you could read to the nearest 0.5 cm so it can be read to the nearest 0.05 A
the reading is 135.5 mm. in this case 17.5 (175 mm). (half of 0.1).
2 3
1
Uncertainty A
4
0
5
You cant measure a physical quantity exactly because all instruments have limitations. These scale
limitations make any reading uncertain. However, some digital instruments appear to give
more exact measurements than the manufacturers ever intended. For example, an ammeter pointer
with a display of 258 mA seems to be indicating that the current is exactly 258 mA, whereas
it may really mean 258 1 mA.
A general rule-of-thumb is that the uncertainty in a reading is said to be equal to a half
scale division on the instrument. For a ruler marked in millimetres, the absolute uncertainty
is 0.5 mm so the reading above could have been stated as 36.5 0.5 mm. This absolute
uncertainty could be also expressed as a percentage uncertainty:
absolute uncertainty
Percentage uncertainty = 100%
observed measurement
0.5
= 100% = 1%.
36.5
The uncertainty is a way of expressing how confident you are about the readings provided by
the instrument. It is a measure of the limitations of the instrument.

Figure 1.10
This burette shows a reading of
Uncertainty calculations
11.55 mL. One half-scale To add, subtract, multiply or divide numbers, the absolute and relative uncertainties may be
division equals 0.05 mL.
required.
For addition and subtraction, add absolute uncertainties.
10 For multiplication and division, add percentage uncertainties.
Example 1
A container of water rises in temperature from 25.5 0.5C to 36.0 0.5C. Calculate the
11 rise in temperature and its percentage uncertainty.
Solution
12 36.0 0.5C 25.5 0.5C = 10.5 1.0C

1.0
= 100% = 9.5%.
10.5
Example 2
A piece of paper is measured and found to be 5.63 0.05 mm wide and 64.2 0.5 mm long.
What is the area of the piece of paper?
Solution
Area = length width

= (5.63 0.05 mm) (64.2 0.5 mm)
= 5.63 0.89% (64.2 0.78%) (convert to percentage uncertainty)
= 361.446 1.67% (add percentage uncertainties)
= 361.446 6.025 mm2 (convert percentage uncertainty to absolute uncertainty)
= 361 6 mm2
(Round answer to three significant figures and round the uncertainty to one
significant figure as given in the original data.)
Questions
18 A cube of brass was measured and found to have a side of length 13.0 0.5 mm.
Determine the volume of the cube.
19 A student made two measurements using a metre ruler calibrated in millimetres.
First measurement = 25.5 mm.
Second measurement = 174.5 mm.
(a) What are the absolute uncertainties for these measurements?
(b) Convert these absolute uncertainties to relative uncertainties.
(c) Add the two measurements and show the absolute uncertainty of the result.
(d) Multiply the two measurements and show the absolute uncertainty of the
result.
20 Determine the correct value for the area of a horse paddock 645 5 m long
and 345 5 m wide. What is the total length of fencing needed to fence this
paddock?
Accuracy and precision

Students often find that despite performing an experiment as accurately as possible and
reading the instruments as best as they are able, their results are different from the accepted
or textbook result. This difference is called the error. The error is a measure of the accuracy
of a result. Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measurement to the accepted value.

Imagine your group measured the density of water to be 1.02 g/mL when the accepted value
was given as 1.00 g/mL at that temperature. Your (absolute) error would be 0.02 g/mL.
Hence:
The absolute error (Ea) = | observed value accepted value | = |O A|.
Note: the straight lines (|) in the above equation mean the absolute value, that is, the sign
(+/) of the answer is ignored.
The relative error (Er) is the absolute error expressed as a percentage of the
accepted value (A):
Ea
Relative error (E r) = x 100%
A
0.02
In the above example Er, would equal 1.00 100% = 2%.
This is necessary so that accuracy between different experiments can be compared. Imagine
that a student measured the density of lead as 11.29 g/cm3, while the accepted value was
11.41 g/cm3. Which result is the more accurate the density of water or the density of lead?
In this case you need to compare relative errors: the error for water was 2% whereas that for
lead was 1% and hence was more accurately measured.
Example 1
Calculate (a) the absolute error and (b) the relative error in a students measurement of
the acceleration due to gravity. They obtained 9.73 m/s2 whereas the accepted value at their
location was 9.813 m/s2.
Solution
(a) Ea = |O A|
= 9.73 9.813
= 0.08 m/s2 (to the correct number of significant figures).
(b) Er = Ea 100%
A
= 0.08 100%
9.813
= 0.8%.
Example 2
When lower profile tyres are fitted to a car in place of the factory fitted ones, a speedometer
reading error can occur as the new tyres have a smaller diameter. A table was compiled by a
motor magazine during a road test (Table 1.10).
Ta b l e 1 . 1 0
SPEED (km/h)
Observed 60 80 100 110
Actual 57.0 76.0 95.0 104.5
Calculate the relative error at 80 km/h.
Solution
E 4
Relative error = a 100% = 100 = 5.2%
A 76

A c t i v i t y 1 . 5 E R R O R I N E S T I M AT I N G P I ( )
Figure 1.11 roll
Experiment to calculate errors
in estimating pi.
P H Y S I C S FA C T start finish
In 1783 William Shanks reported

1 Draw a line on a piece of paper and place a starting mark at one end
a value of pi to 707 places,
beating the previous value by 200
(Figure 1.11).
places. In 1949 a computer was 2 Make a mark on the side of a 20 cent coin at the edge.
used for the first time to
3 Line up the two marks and roll the 20 cent coin along the line until the mark on
calculate pi mechanically and
they found that Shanks made a the coin touches the paper again, and then put a finish mark.
mistake at the 528th digit and 4 Measure the diameter, d, of the coin with whatever instrument you choose.
was wrong from then on. Shanks Measure the length of the line between the start and finish marks. This is the
took 15 years to make his circumference, c, of the coin.
calculationand he was wrong.
What a waste! 5 Calculate by using the formula c = d (i.e. 2r).
6 Knowing that = 3.141 59, calculate the absolute and relative errors in your
estimate of pi.
Summing up:
Uncertainty is a measure of how confidently you can state a measurement or result
and is a direct result of the limitations of an instrument. The terms absolute
uncertainty and relative uncertainty are used.
Accuracy is a measure of how close a measurement is to an accepted value. The terms
absolute error and relative error are used.
Questions
21 Convert the following percentage errors back to absolute errors: (a) 27.6 1.5%;
(b) 10.35 0.6%.
22 Calculate the relative error for the following speeds (as shown in Table 1.10):
(a) 60 km/h; (b) 100 km/h; (c) 110 km/h. Does the speedo become more
inaccurate at higher speeds?
23 A carbon resistor of nominal resistance 330 ohms is manufactured to a tolerance
of 5%. This is, in effect, the maximum relative error. Calculate the range of
resistance that this resistor could be.
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS 1.7

Just as units of measurement changed as peoples needs changed, so too did the instruments
they used for measuring things. Ancient societies achieved incredible accuracy with their
primitive devices rods, string and even line-of-sight. But as precision engineering became
vital to industrial society, instruments were developed to achieve such precision.
In this section we will look at the:
micrometer screw gauge
vernier calliper
stroboscope
digital counter.

The micrometer screw gauge Figure 1.12

The pitch of this micrometer
is 1 mm.
To measure really tiny things a micrometer can be used. It can measure down to about one-
hundredth of a millimetre. The principle behind the micrometer is the screw one rotation pitch = 1 mm
of the screw moves it through a distance equal to the pitch (the distance from one thread to
the next) as shown in Figure 1.12. If the screw is rotated only a fraction of a turn, then the
screw advances that fraction of the pitch.
A common type of laboratory micrometer has a main scale marked off in half-millimetre
divisions. One revolution of the thimble moves the main shaft 0.5 mm. The thimble itself is
divided into 50 divisions so that 1 mm equals 100 thimble scale divisions. Hence 1 thimble
scale division = 1/100 mm or 0.01 mm. The micrometer in Figure 1.13 shows a reading of
6.5 mm on the main scale and 27 0.01 (= 0.27 mm) on the thimble scale. The final reading
is thus 6.77 mm.
There are many types of micrometers available. Your schools could be quite different from
the one described here.
Figure 1.13
35 This micrometer reads 6.5 mm on the
0 5 30 main scale and 0.27 mm on the barrel,
25
20 making a total of 6.77 mm.
Activity 1.6 THE VERNIER CALIPER

Photo 1.6
Try the following as a good stimulus response task. Digital vernier calipers are now
The vernier caliper has two jaws that slide together over the object being measured. The becoming more commonplace
especially as their price has come
caliper was named after the French mathematician Pierre Vernier, who devised the scale. It down to about $100.
uses an auxiliary scale (the vernier scale) in conjunction with a main scale to assist in esti-
mating fractions of a main scale division. The main scale is graduated in millimetres (called
main scale divisions or MSD) and each centimetre is numbered. The vernier scale is
9 mm long and yet is divided into ten equal divisions (called vernier scale divisions or VSD).
It can be shown that the smallest possible division on the vernier scale is one-tenth of
1 mm = 0.1 mm. The procedure is: count the number of complete main scale divisions (MSD)
up to the zero line on the vernier scale. Count the number of vernier scale divisions (VSD) to
the point where a vernier scale mark and a main scale mark coincide. This will be in 0.1 mm
units. For example, in Figure 1.14, the object is 11 mm long plus 5 0.1 mm, which equals
11.5 mm or 1.15 cm.
Figure 1.14
the 5th mark on the vernier scale This vernier calliper reads
matches up with a main-scale mark (1.1 + 5 0.01) cm, i.e. 1.15 cm.
0 1 2
main scale
length of object 5
0 10
vernier scale

Question
24 What is the reading on the vernier calipers shown in Figure 1.15?
Figure 1.15 (a) (b)
For question 24.
vernier scale
10
cm 5
6 8 9 10
5 15 25
mm 10 20
main scale
The stroboscope
The stroboscope owes its name to the Greek strobos meaning to whirl around and skopion
meaning see. The most common form consists of a xenon flash tube similar to that found in
a camera flash (Photo 1.8). It can be made to flash at a variable rate from about 1 per
second to tens of thousands per second. If a rotating object is in fairly dim conditions and
the light flashes when the object is in the same position every time then the object will
appear stationary. However, you wouldnt know if the object rotated two or three or a
hundred times between flashes so you have to make sure by starting at the lowest strobe
frequency and gradually increasing it until motion freezes.
One problem with strobe illumination is that by freezing a rotating object (e.g. a fan blade
or a part of a lathe) onlookers may be confused into thinking it is stationary and this would
of course be very dangerous. In factories, special precautions are taken with machinery
that is illuminated by fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights flicker at 100 times per second or
100 hertz once for each crest and trough of an alternating current. Machinery operating
at multiple frequencies of this could appear stationary. Such lights have different capacitors
added to make them flicker out of synchronisation, which breaks up the strobe effect.
The digital counter

The term digital conjures up images of modern high-technology but in reality it just means
counting in units. This could be like counting yes and no votes in an election; like present
and not present when marking a class roll; off and on for an electrical switch or light and
dark as cans of soft drink pass a light sensor on a packaging line.
Photo 1.7 Photo 1.8

A mechanic using a timing light. A xenon stroboscope.
(J.A.T. Mechanical, Brisbane)

1.8 A F I N A L N OT E
There is one final caution about measurement and measuring instruments that applies to all
devices mentioned throughout this book. An ideal measuring device will have no effect on
the measurement itself. For instance, when you measure the width of your desk, the desk is
unaffected by the measurement. But this is not the case for all measuring devices. When you
measure the pressure of a cars tyres some gas is sampled and the tyre has less gas than
before you started. The loss is insignificant, however. A voltmeter or ammeter samples
electrons from an electrical circuit and will affect the voltages and currents being measured.
But again, if the meters are used properly the effect will be minimal. Can you think of other
instruments that affect the phenomena being measured and how the effect is minimised?
Practice questions
The relative difficulty of these questions is indicated by the number of stars beside each
question number: * = low; ** = medium; *** = high.
Review applying principles and problem solving
*25 The space shuttle orbits the Earth at an altitude of 300 km. How many
millimetres is this?
*26 The Earth is approximately a sphere of radius 6.37 106 m. (a) What is its
circumference? (b) What is its volume in cubic metres? (c) What is its volume
in cubic kilometres?
*27 Submarines typically dive at a rate of 36 fathoms per second. If a fathom is
6 feet and 1 foot is 0.305 m, convert this diving speed to metres per second.
*28 Write the following in scientific notation: (a) 3 558.76; (b) 40.00; (c) 79 000;
(d) 200 326; (e) 1994; (f) 20.009; (g) 0.050 0; (h) 2 500 000; (i) 0.000 000 8;
(j) 5 million.
*29 Do the following calculations on your calculator, using the correct number of
significant figures: (a) 4.2 103 8.1 104; (b) 3.7 107 4.1 104;
(c) 7.2 104 1.8 106; (d) 4.8 106 1.6 103; (e) (4.1 106)2;
(f) 2.8 103 ( 43 (4.7 105)3).
*30 Express each of the following as an order of magnitude: (a) 4.28 107;
(b) 32 000 000; (c) 1.2 105; (d) 1.13 104; (e) 4.5 108; (f) 9 192 000;
(g) 0.000 000 38.
*31 How many significant figures are there in each of the following: (a) 95.2 km;
(b) 3.080 105 g; (c) 0.0067 L; (d) 0.000 670 L?
*32 Convert the following to relative errors: (a) 2.40 0.02 V; (b) 3.25 0.05 A;
(c) 25.4 0.4 mm; (d) 0.0035 0.0001 T; (e) 325 10 cm.
**33 A student is required to determine the density of a particular metal. The object
is in the shape of a cylinder. She uses a micrometer calibrated in 0.01 mm (i.e. a
limit of reading of 0.01 mm) to measure the diameter of the cylinder and uses a
vernier calliper with a limit of reading of 0.1 mm to measure the length. Recall
that the error associated with a reading is half the limit of reading. The results
are shown in Table 1.11.

Ta b l e 1 . 1 1
READING DIAMETER (mm) LENGTH (mm)
1 16.446 28.4
2 16.444 28.3
3 16.442 28.5
(a) What absolute error is associated with each reading?

(b) Determine the average values for length and diameter.
(c) Determine the value for radius and length. Include the correct error.
(d) Determine the volume of the cylinder, including its error.
(e) If the cylinder has a mass of 56.4 0.2 g, determine the density of the
cylinder in g mm3.
*34 Use your ruler and calculate (a) the surface area of the front cover of this book;
(b) the total external surface area; (c) the volume of this book;
(d) the thickness of one page.
Extension Complex, challenging and novel

**35 What does the prefix micro signify in the words microwave oven? Does it mean
it is a small oven? It has been proposed that food that has been irradiated by
gamma rays to lengthen its shelf life should be called picowaved. What do you
suppose that means?
***36 Convert the speed of light (3.0 108 m s1) to furlongs per fortnight. A furlong
is one-eighth of a mile; there are 5280 feet in a mile and one foot is 0.305 m.
***37 A wire of length 756.5 0.5 mm has a mass of 8.5 0.5 g. Calculate the mass
per millimetre.
***38 Isaac Asimov proposed a unit of time based on the highest known speed of
light and the smallest measurable distance. It is the light-fermi, the time taken
by light to travel a distance of 1 fermi (= 1 femtometre = 1 fm = 1015 m).
How many light-fermis are there in 1 second? Recall that light travels at
3 108 m s1.
**39 Some of the prefixes of the SI units have crept into everyday language. What is
the weekly equivalent of an annual salary of $36 K (= 36 kilodollars)?
***40 The hard disk of a particular computer was stated as 200 MB (= 200 megabytes).
At 8 bytes per word, how many words can it store? Note that in computerese,
kilo means 1024 (= 210) not 1000 and mega means 220 not 1 million.
**41 When the length of a metre was defined in 1983, the speed of light was accepted
as 2 997 924 58 ms1. Why was it not defined as exactly 3.000 108 m s1 to
make it simpler?
***42 The following is an extract from The Times newspaper, London. Read it and
answer the question below.
Time, gentlemen
The Gregorian calendar, which celebrated its quatercentenary in October 1982, is
still working well. So well, in fact, that it will be some time in AD 4316 before it
is a complete day out.
The trouble is that when God created, he did so without benefit of digital
timekeeping, and a year is currently 365.2422 days long. This leaves a rather
useless plane-shaving of time at the end of each year. Julius Caesar was without
digitals, too, but his astronomer Sosigenes did a remarkably fair job in 46 BC to
produce a year of 365 days and six hours only a week out every 1000 years.
This was perfectly adequate for the ancients, who rose and retired by the sun, but
not for those pernickety Christians, who became deeply concerned about Easter
being on the correct day.

By the time Pope Gregory XIII wrestled with the problem, the Julian calendar
was 10 days adrift. So at midnight on October 5, 1582, he declared the next day to
be October 15. It brought the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere back to
March 21 and the peasants never felt a thing.
Britain, having long grown wary of such popish tricks, did not deign to accept
the Gregorian calendar until 1752. But it was by no means the last country to
abandon old Caesars almanac. Russia did not go Gregorian until 1918, after the
Revolution, and the last country of all to abandon it seems to have been Greece,
in 1923.
(a) Why did the Christians need a more accurate calendar?
(b) Russian chemist Mendelev devised the Periodic Table of the Elements on
1 March 1901 in Moscow. What date would this have been in London?
(c) By 1989 the calendar was only out by 2 hours 49 minutes since 1582.
How far out will it be in 2005?
***43 The size of a molecule can be determined by placing a drop of oil on the surface
of water and noting the maximum area of the oil slick which is assumed to be
one molecule thick. We tried this and found that one drop spread to a circle
with a diameter of 14 cm. We also found that there were 20 drops of oil to the
milliliter. Calculate the thickness of the slick.
***44 There are 6 1023 molecules of water in 18 mL of water. If the ocean has a
volume of 1.3 1018 m3, how many glasses of water (at 250 mL each) are there
in the ocean? Comment on the assertion that there are more molecules of water
in a glass of water than there are glasses of water in the ocean.
***45 Neutron stars have a radius of 20 km and a mass equal to our Sun (2 1030 kg).
What is the mass of a cubic centimeter of neutron star?

UNIT 02
Fo rc e s & M o t i o n
CHAPTER 02
Motion in a Straight Line
2.1 O B S E R V I N G M OT I O N
People have been watching and recording things move for thousands of years. The motions of
the heavens are some of the oldest recorded observations we have. Later, a need to measure
the speed of advancing armies or athletes or ships required better ways of measuring distance
and time. Over the centuries measurements became more accurate and now form the basis of
modern physics. We can now measure distances and times to incredible accuracy.
Many types of motion are occurring around us all the time. Blood flow, moving bullets,
cricket balls, athletics, cars, stars, planets, neutrinos and weaving looms are some of the
areas where motion is measured. Some need to be measured carefully, others not. A car
speedometer that is a few kilometres per hour over or under makes little difference but better
accuracy is needed when timing a 100 metre sprint or controlling the speed of videotape
through the heads of a VCR.
Sometimes the motion of objects doesnt make sense. Can you make sense of these
questions?
We live on a world that is round, yet we do not fall off. Many people used to believe
the world was flat. Some still do. What evidence is there that it is round?
Before Copernicus, most people believed that the Earth was stationary and the Sun
moved around it. We now believe that the Earth is moving around the Sun but how
do we know this?
The Earth moves in a circular orbit and never slows down. Most objects in the world
seem to travel in straight lines and slow down. Why is the Earth different?
The above three questions have several similarities. How many different things do they have
in common?
Physics developed over the centuries as people pondered on these questions and came
up with all sorts of different explanations. But people also found that knowing about the
motion of everyday objects became more and more important.
It helps with your problem solving if you are familiar with some common motions and
their measurements.
Activity 2.1 SPEEDOMETER Photo 2.1

A car speedometer.
Have a look at your family cars speedometer.
1 What is the maximum speed that it can record?
2 Do you know what your cars top speed is? If you dont, where would you find
out? Assuming that it cant go as fast as the maximum value on the speedo, why
do manufacturers use this sort in cars?
3 How many km/h are there per division?
4 The odometer (Greek hodos = a way) measures the total number of kilometres
travelled by the car from when it was new. What is the maximum number of
kilometres your car can travel before the odometer returns to all zeros?

5 Does your odometer measure to the nearest kilometre or tenth of a kilometre?

6 What is the maximum distance your trip meter will record?
7 Some unscrupulous people illegally wind back the odometer. What is the
purpose of this and how do they do it?
8 Does the odometer go backwards when your car is reversed?
9 Does the speedo of your car go lower than zero when reversed?
Activity 2.2 SEWING MACHINE

Look at a sewing machine. How can you change the speed of a sewing machine motor?
Is it variable? Are all electric motors controlled in the same way?
Activity 2.3 VIDEO RECORDER

If you have a VCR and can find the instruction manual, find out the tape speed on
standard play. Should everyone in the class get the same result? Is the speed the same
in videocameras? Are speed and image quality related?
A knowledge of physics enables us to analyse all types of motion. Without accurate

measurement and control, life would be difficult indeed.
D I S TA N C E A N D D I S P L A C E M E N T 2.2
From the earliest times, being able to measure distances, angles and time was important in
the daily lives of people. Often it was for religious reasons worshipping sun gods; other
times it was an attempt to plot the motion of the stars a primitive astronomy. But some-
times it had a more practical purpose. Measuring distance, for instance, was important in the
construction of houses, building canals and cultivating fields.
Plato told the story of how Posiedon (421 BC) inherited the island of Atlantis with its
irrigated plain of 3000 by 2000 stades (a stade is 185 metres, hence the word stadium).
Today, of course, we would be more likely to use metres or kilometres.
Whereas length is a measure of how long or wide an object is, we use the term distance
to say how far the object has moved. A person travelling from one city to another may have
moved a distance of 1200 km. In physics, we need to be able to measure not only distance
but also displacement.
Displacement is the change in position of an object in a given direction. You can
think of it as the position measured relative to the origin. It is given the symbol s.
Figure 2.1 In Figure 2.1, if you started at point X and walked 8 m east to point Z and then turned
around and walked 5 m west to point Y, you would have moved a distance of 13 m but would
X Y Z only have a displacement of 3 m east. That is, your position would only have changed by
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8m 3 m to the east. In symbols this could be written as s = 3 m E.
Displacement is called a vector quantity. That is, it involves both a number and a direc-
tion. Other vector quantities are velocity, acceleration and force. Quantities that do not
include a direction are called scalar quantities. Distance, speed, mass and time are all scalar
quantities. In the next chapter, vectors will be discussed in more detail.
When discussing vector quantities like displacement we use the compass points (N, E, W,
S) to define directions as we did above, or alternatively, we can use a positive sign for forward
motion or motion to the right and a negative sign for backward motion or motion to the left.
Figure 2.2 For example, in Figure 2.2 the displacement of C can be written as sC = +10 m; and the
displacement of A can be written as sA = 7 m.
A B C
Either way, youll need to be able to use both conventions. Its up to you and it is also
7 m start +10 m up to you to define the positive and negative directions.
Motion in a Straight Line 27

Representation of vector quantities

A vector quantity can be represented by a vector. A vector is an arrow. The length of the arrow
represents the magnitude of the vector quantity, and the direction of the arrow shows the
direction of the vector quantity. For example, the three vectors in Figure 2.3 represent cars
travelling at 30 km/h east, 60 km/h west and 10 km/h north respectively.
Figure 2.3
30 km/h E 60 km/h W 10 km/h N
When vectors do not lie along the compass points (N, E, S, W), angles need to be specified.
Figure 2.4 shows how the direction is indicated.
A B C
Figure 2.4
30 70
60
E30N (or N60E) N20W (or W70N) W60S (or S30W)
Students often find it hard to work out the directions. You can think of diagram A in Figure
2.4 as saying: going east but rotated 30 to the north.
Example
In Figure 2.5, an orienteering competitor starts at point A and goes 2 km N, 4 km E and then
2 km S. What is the final displacement at point D?
Solution
The displacement at D is 4 km east (sD = 4 km E).
Questions
1 In Figure 2.5:
(a) What is the displacement of the competitor at point B? (sB = ?)
(b) What is the total distance travelled when at point D?
(c) What is the distance travelled when at point C?
(d) What is the displacement at point C? Remember to include the direction by
stating the value of the angle CAD.
B
4 km C Figure 2.5
For question 1.
2 km 2 km
A D
displacement = 4 km E

2 You watch your dog following a cats scent trail. He walks 50 m north, turns
and walks 60 m east and then walks 50 m south. What is his displacement?
3 A toy train is running around a circular track of diameter 120 cm. What is its
distance travelled and its displacement after (a) one-half of a lap; (b) one full
lap; (c) two laps; (d) one-quarter of a lap?
SPEED AND VELOCITY 2.3

Newspapers and magazines use the terms speed and velocity as if they mean the same
thing. They do almost. When a newspaper report mentions a high-speed car chase we know
what is meant. But why do they also talk about hunting rifles being high-velocity?
Newspapers say high-velocity atomic particles but they also talk of a cyclones wind speed.
Try out these Fermi questions: Newspapers mean the same thing by speed and velocity. Why do you think they refer to some
A How many golf balls will motions as speed and others as velocity?
fit in a suitcase? In physics, speed and velocity are slightly different terms. Speed is a scalar quantity
B How many hairs are there whereas velocity is a vector quantity. If it takes 2 hours to travel the 120 kilometres from
on a human head?
Brisbane to Noosa then the average speed is 60 kilometres per hour. Speed is the rate at
C How quickly does human hair
which distance is covered. Remember, the word rate is a clue that something is being
grow (in kilometres per hour)?
D If all the people of the world
divided by time. Speed is always measured in terms of a unit of distance divided by a unit of
were crowded together, how time, such as metres per second.
much area would we cover?
E What is the relative cost of
fuel (per kilometre) of Average speed = total distance travelled
time taken
rickshaws and cars?
F How far does a car travel
before a one-molecule This of course doesnt mean the driver sat on 60 km h1 all the way. Sometimes the car
layer of rubber is worn would have gone at 100 km h1 and at other times it would have been stationary. While the
off the tyres?
cars speedometer was reading 60 km h1 then the car was actually travelling at that speed for
that moment. This is called its instantaneous speed.
When we talk of a cars speed as being 60 km h1 we have no idea about the direction it
is travelling. Speed is a scalar quantity.
Velocity is defined as speed in a particular direction, for example 60 km h1 north.
Velocity is a vector quantity and the direction must be stated. In this book we represent a
vector by printing its symbol in bold italics.
Imagine a person running to catch a bus. Figure 2.6 shows him running north up Main
Street at 5 m s1, turning east into Mary Street and continuing to run at 5 m s1. Although he
was running at constant speed, his velocity changed because his direction changed.
Instantaneous velocity is similar to instantaneous speed except that a particular direction
must be stated.
Instantaneous velocity = small distance travelled in a stated direction

time taken for this small distance
Figure 2.6
Turning into Mary Street.
A change of direction As distance moved in a stated direction is called displacement,
means a change in velocity.
displacement
instantaneous velocity =
Mary St time taken
s metres per second = metres
Main St
v=
t seconds

As with speed, we can use the term average velocity to describe the motion of an object
such as a car.
A lizard runs 30 m west, rests
and heads 40 m north where it
displacement s
Average velocity = or v av = meets the base of a tree.
time taken t It scampers 5 m straight up the
tree. What is the magnitude of
its displacement? How are you
where (delta, the Greek D) means change in, that is, t means change in time, but usually going to indicate the angle?
the deltas are omitted. The formula can be rearranged like this:
v av = ts s = v av t t =vs N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
av
The Greek symbol for D is delta,
. In science, we use to
represent difference because
Ta b l e 2 . 1 C O M PA R I S O N O F S O M E C O M M O N S P E E D S this also starts with D. A delta is
a triangular piece of flood plain
MOVEMENT m/s km/h where a river meets the sea, as
in the Nile delta.
Worm 0.005 0.01
Walking 1.4 5 Was the symbol called delta
Jogger 2.8 10 because it looked like the delta
Cheetah 28 100 of a river, or was the flood plain
Sound in air 330 1200 called a delta because it looked
Light 3 108 1 billion like the Greek symbol ? The
Greeks got the word delta from
the inventors of the alphabet
Example 1 the Phoenicians who used it
The trip meter on a cars speedo was set at zero and after a journey lasting half an hour the to mean door.
reading was 35 km. What was the average speed?
Solution
distance 35 km
Average speed = = = 70 km/h or 70 km h 1
time 0.5 h
Example 2
A person rides a bicycle 5 km east and then 5 km north (Figure 2.7). The trip takes 1.5 hours.
Find (a) the total distance travelled; (b) the average speed; (c) the displacement;
(d) the average velocity.
Solution Figure 2.7
(a) Total distance = 5 km + 5 km = 10 km.
distance 10 km
(b) Average speed = = = 6.7 km h1. s = 7 km
time 1.5 h
5 km
(c) Displacement = 52 + 52 = 7 km in a NE direction (s = 7 km NE or 7 km N45E).
displacement 7 km
(d) Average velocity = = = 4.7 km h1 NE (N45E). 5 km
time 1.5 h

Questions
4 To help you rearrange equations and substitute numbers, do the simple calculations
shown in Table 2.2. Do not write in this book.
Ta b l e 2 . 2
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E DISPLACEMENT TIME VELOCITY
Confirm or refute the following (a) 200 m 10 s
statement: When an object is (b) 50 km 1.5 h
moved, its displacement can be (c) 30 s 140 m/s
smaller than the distance (d) 3h 220 km/h
travelled, but the distance (e) 300 m 15 m/s
travelled can never be smaller
(f) 130 km 65 km/h
than the displacement.
5 An archer can fire an arrow at 390 m/s. What time would an arrow take to hit a
target 100 m away?
6 The highest speed on land in a car is 1190.4 km/h recorded by Stan Barrett
(USA) in 1979 in his rocket-engined three-wheeled car at Edwards Airforce Base.
What time would it have taken him to cover the 1.6 km test distance?
7 A person rides a bicycle to a shop by travelling 300 m north along a straight
road and then travels west for another 400 m. If the trip takes 3 minutes, find
(a) the average speed and (b) the average velocity.
8 A Ferrari Testarossa when driven by an experienced racing driver can cover
400 m from a standing start in 14.2 s. If it crosses the 400 m line at a speed of
203 km/h, what is its average speed?
DISPLACEMENTTIME GRAPHS 2.4

Photo 2.2 It is often useful to show records of motion in the form of a graph. These can be in the form
The Texas TI-83 graphing calculator of a distancetime graph or as a displacementtime graph. In the graph shown in Figure 2.8
and ranger has become a popular
way of collecting and displaying the position of a quarter-horse is shown, as recorded at six different times.
data on the motion of objects,
particularly in real-time.
Ta b l e 2 . 3 DISPLACEMENT AND TIME MEASUREMENTS FOR A QUARTER-HORSE
Time elapsed (s) 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
Displacement (m) 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0
In drawing the graph, it is usual to show the time elapsed on the x-axis and the dis-
placement on the y-axis as in Figure 2.8.
Note that the six plotted points are the six observations of the quarter-horse. When we
draw a line between these points we are assuming that the motion was uniform. This is called
Figure 2.8 interpolation (Latin inter = between, polire = polish; that is, to polish-up your data by
Displacementtime graph supplying in-between points). When a line is extended past the first or last data points, this
for quarter-horse.
is called extrapolation (Latin extra = beyond).
y
Displacement (m)
50
40
30
20
10
0 x
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s)
Questions
9 Table 2.4 records the motion of a dog chasing a ball. (a) Draw a displacementtime
graph of the motion and describe it in words.
Ta b l e 2 . 4
Time elapsed (s) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Displacement (m) 0 2 4 4 4 6 6 4 2 0
(b) When was the dog stationary?

(c) When was its displacement increasing?
(d) When was the dog moving with the greatest speed?
2.5 SLOPE AND VELOCITY

Figure 2.9 is the displacementtime graph of a sprinter who runs 100 m in 10 s, rests for 20 s
and then sprints back to the starting point in the next 30 s.
Figure 2.9
Displacementtime graph
of sprinter.
100
Displacement (m)
80
60
40
20
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s)
The sprinters average velocity in the first 10 seconds is calculated by dividing the
displacement by the time taken. This is the same as calculating the slope of the line. The
slope of any line is given by change in y divided by change in x (rise over run):
y y y1
Slope = = 2
x x2 x1
From the above displacementtime graph, the slope is given by:
y change in position 100 m 0 m

v av = slope = = = = 10 m s 1
x time taken 10 s 0 s
The slope of the line is constant for the first 10 seconds, indicating that the velocity was
also constant.
From t = 30 s to t = 60 s the average velocity can be calculated:
vav = 0 100 = 3.3 m s1.
60 30
Note that when the slope of the line is positive the velocity is in the positive direction.
When the slope is negative the velocity is negative; this simply means that the direction of
motion has reversed.

Questions
10 For the graph of a rollerskater shown in Figure 2.10:
(a) calculate his average velocity for each of the five sections of the graph;
(b) calculate his average velocity for the whole journey;
(c) calculate his average speed for the whole journey.
Figure 2.10
Displacementtime graph
of rollerskater.
100
Displacement (m)
80
60
40
20
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s)
A C C E L E R AT I O N 2.6
The velocity of a car increases when it starts moving from rest and decreases when the brakes
are applied and it slows down. Cars can thus accelerate (speed up) or decelerate (slow down).
The rate at which the velocity changes is called its acceleration. Consider the measurements
of a car taking off from the traffic lights, shown in Table 2.5.
The 08.00 express from Cleveland Ta b l e 2 . 5
to Brisbane arrives at 9.00, and
the 08.30 from Brisbane to
TIME ELASPSED (s) DISPLACEMENT (m) VELOCITY (m s 1 )
Cleveland arrives at 9.30.
Assuming both trains travel at 0 0 0
constant speed, at what time 1 1 2
should they pass each other? 2 4 4
3 9 6
4 16 8
5 25 10
The cars velocity is changing by 2 m s1 every second. Its acceleration is said to be

2 m s1 per second or 2 m s2. The formula for acceleration is then:
change in velocity v
Acceleration = =
time taken t
final velocity initial velocity

=
time taken
vu
a=
t
where v is the final velocity and u is the initial velocity.

Note that the change of displacement is increasing for every second elapsed. In the 1st
second, the displacement changes by 1 m, whereas in the 2nd second the displacement
changes by 3 m. The above data are plotted on the three graphs shown in Figure 2.11. Graphs
of uniformly accelerated motion are related as shown in the figure.
Figure 2.11
25 10 10
20 8 8
a (m/s2)
v (m/s)
s (m)
15 6 6
10 4 4
5 2 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
t (s) t (s) t (s)
Questions
11 Plot an st graph and a vt graph of the data of a ball rolling down an incline,
listed in Table 2.6. Dont write in this book.
Ta b l e 2 . 6
TIME ELASPSED (s) DISPLACEMENT (m) VELOCITY (m s 1 )
0 0 0
1 3 6
2 12 12
3 27 18
4 48 24
5 75 30
By inspection of the data, state the acceleration of the rolling ball.

Example
American experiments reveal that the beak of the red-headed woodpecker hits the bark of a
tree at an impact velocity of 5.8 m s1 and comes to rest in 0.059 s. Calculate the deceler-
ation of the birds head.
Solution
a = v u = 0 5.8 = 98 m s 2 (9.8 10 1 m s 2)
t 0.059
The negative sign indicates that the bird slowed down.
Questions
12 Complete Table 2.7. This will give you practice at manipulating the equation for
acceleration. Dont write in this book.
Ta b l e 2 . 7
v (m s 1 ) u (m s 1 ) v (m s 1 ) t (s) a (m s 1 )
(a) 18 10 2.0
(b) 42 4 4.0
(c) 20 10 2.0
(d) 18 25 3.5
(e) 5 1.3 0.5

Heres an interesting theory that 13 The highest road-tested acceleration reported for a standard production car is
could be investigated 0 to 96.5 km/h (26.8 m s1) in 3.98 s for a Ferrari F40 driven by Mark Hales of
experimentally. R. McNeill Alexander Fast Lane Magazine in the UK on 9 February 1989. Calculate the acceleration
from Leeds University, England,
of the car.
measured the speed at which
14 The highest speed by a rocket-engined wheeled land vehicle was 1046 km h1
animals switched from walking to
running. For humans, the speed is
(290 m s1) recorded by Gary Gabelich in The Blue Flame on the Bonneville
about 8 km h1. He developed a rule Salt Flats in 1970. His acceleration was measured as 4.2 m s2 in getting to this
which, stated mathematically, is: speed from rest. How many seconds would he have taken to reach this speed?
1
v2 = 2 g dH, where v is the speed at 15 The head of a rattlesnake can accelerate at 50 m s2 when striking a victim.
which an animal switches, dH is If a car could do as well, how long would it take for it to reach a speed of
the distance from the hip to the 27 m s1 (100 km h1) from rest?
ground, and g is the acceleration 16 A muon (an elementary particle) enters an electric field with a speed of
due to gravity. His rule applies to 5.00 106 m s1, whereupon the field causes it to decelerate at 1.25 1014 m s2.
animals from insects to humans. Can How much time elapses before it stops?
you confirm this rule by experiment?
I N S TA N TA N E O U S V E L O C I T Y 2.7
When you read a cars speedo you are seeing the instantaneous speed of the car. If it reads
60 km h1, then it means that at the current speed you would cover 60 km in 1 hour. But
you could be accelerating and the speedo might be gradually changing from 50 km h1 to
100 km h1. When it read 60 km h1 this was its instantaneous speed. If a direction is also
specified, then you would be talking about its instantaneous velocity.
Consider the case of an accelerating car. In this case the velocity is getting faster as time
goes by so the st graph is a curve as shown in Figure 2.12.
Figure 2.12(a)
The instantaneous velocity at time
t = 2.5 s is given by the slope
of the tangent to the curve
at that point. 30
Position (m)
20
10
1 2 3 4
Time (s)
To calculate the instantaneous velocity at 2.5 s in Figure 2.12(a), a tangent is drawn to

the curve at the 2.5 s mark. The tangent is a line that just touches the curve at that point.
The slope of the tangent can be calculated:
y 2 y 1 20 0
Slope = = = 8 m s 1
x 2 x 1 3.5 1

A more difficult case is shown in Figure 2.12(b). To calculate the instantaneous velocity Figure 2.12(b)
at 2 seconds in Figure 2.12(b), a tangent to the curve has been drawn and the slope of the 30
tangent can be calculated:
20
Position (m)
10
0 -23
Slope = = 4.4 m s 1 0
5.2 1 2 3 4 5 6
-10
-20
Question -30
17 From Figure 2.12b: (a) Calculate the instantaneous velocity at 4 s. (b) Calculate
the average velocity over the whole 5 s. Do not draw in this book. Use your ruler.
2.8 V E L O C I T Y- T I M E G R A P H S
Graphs can also be used to show the changes in velocity of an object with time. The graph in
Figure 2.13 represents a car being accelerated from rest to 20 m s1 in 10 s and being held at
that speed for 10 s before the driver slows down to a stop.
Velocity (m/s) Figure 2.13
20
0
You have learnt that the rate of
10 20 30 40
change of position with respect to
Time (s)
time is velocity, and the rate of
20
change of velocity is acceleration.
A straight line sloping upward indicates constant acceleration, whereas a straight line Did you know that the rate of
change of acceleration is known as
sloping down indicates deceleration or negative acceleration. A horizontal line indicates zero
jerk (symbol j)? Jerk is important
vu
acceleration, that is, constant velocity. As the formula for acceleration a = is equiva- when evaluating the destructive
t
y effect of motion on a mechanism,
lent to then acceleration is equal to the slope of a vt graph.
x or the discomfort caused to
passengers in a vehicle. The
The displacement can be calculated by finding the area under the line. For instance, in
movement of delicate instruments
the case above, the car has travelled at an average speed of 10 m s1 for the first 10 s. Hence
needs to be kept within specified
the displacement must be 10 m s1 10 s = 100 m. The area under the line for the first 10 s
limits of jerk as well as
is (20 10)/2, that is, (base height)/2, which equals 100 m also. The area under a vt
acceleration to avoid damage.
graph equals displacement.
When designing a train the
Example engineers will typically be required
Using the graph shown in Figure 2.13: to keep the jerk less than 2 m s3
(a) Calculate the acceleration of the car at (i) 5 s, (ii) 15 s and (iii) 30 s. for passenger comfort. In the
(b) Calculate the displacement after 40 s. aerospace industry they even have
(c) Calculate the average velocity. such a thing as a jerkmeter an
(b) Sketch an accelerationtime graph. instrument for measuring jerk.
In the case of the Hubble space
Solution telescope, the engineers specified
(a) (i) The acceleration at 5 s is equal to the slope at 5 s: limits on the magnitude of the
rate of change of jerk. There is no
a = slope = 20 0 = 2 m s 2 universally accepted name for this
10 fourth derivative.
Is the slope of, or area under, an
(ii) Slope equals zero, therefore acceleration is zero. at graph related to jerk? Does
(iii) Slope = 0 20 = 1 m s2. the slope of, or area under, a

40 20 jerktime graph mean anything?

20 10 20 20
(b) Total area = + 20 10 + = 500 m (or 5 102 m).
2 2
(c) Average velocity = displacement time:
v av = s = 500 = 12.5 m s 1 (or 10 m s 1 to one significant figure)

t 40
(d) See Figure 2.14.
Figure 2.14 Acceleration (m/s2)
0
10 20 30 40
1
Time (s)
2
For cases where the velocity becomes negative, the area beneath the x-axis is also
negative and this must be taken into account when calculating displacement.
For example, imagine the motion of a bungee jumper, jumping off a tower (Figure 2.15).
Figure 2.15
Velocity (m/s)
10
0
10 20 30 40 50
Time (s)
10
30 10 20 10
The displacement after 50 s is + = 50 m. The distance travelled, how-
2 2
ever, is not a vector quantity and the area underneath the x-axis is not considered to be
negative. The distance travelled is 250 m (150 m down plus 100 m back up).
Figure 2.16
For question 19.
Questions
18 For the motion of the bungee jumper shown in Figure 2.15 above:
15
(a) calculate the displacement and distance travelled after 40 s;
(b) calculate the acceleration at 10 s, 30 s and 45 s;
Velocity (m/s)
10
(c) sketch an accelerationtime graph.
5
(d) When was he stationary?
0
(e) When was his acceleration constant but not zero?
5
(f) When was his velocity constant but not zero?
10
19 The graph shown in Figure 2.16 illustrates the motion of a skateboard rider.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 (a) Calculate his displacement after 1 minute.
Time (s) (b) Calculate how far he travelled in the minute.

(c) At what stage was the magnitude of his acceleration the greatest?
(d) When was he stationary?
(e) When was his acceleration negative and constant?
(f) When was his velocity constant but not zero?
20 Olympic equestrian Three-day eventing is held over 4 days. The first 2 days
consist of dressage while the 4th day is for show-jumping. The 3rd day is the
speed and endurance section. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the gold medallist
achieved these results for Day 3:
Stage 1 (The Trot) was at 13 km h1 for 10 minutes followed by Stage 2 (The Fast
Steeplechase), which took 5 minutes at 41 km h1. Stage 3 was another trot the
same as Stage 1. Before Stage 4 there was a compulsory 10 minute rest. Stage 4
was a testing 14-minute cross-country gallop at 34 km h1.
(a) Draw a vt graph of the motion.
(b) Calculate the total distance travelled in this event.
2.9 E Q UAT I O N S O F M OT I O N
The equations used so far can be combined to provide other useful ways of calculating and
describing the motion of objects.
In real life we encounter several main kinds of motion:
Constant velocity (zero acceleration).
Regularly changing velocity (constant acceleration).
Case 1: Constant velocity

The simplest kind of motion we can study is that in which the object moves with constant
velocity and hence zero acceleration. The graphs for this type of motion are illustrated in
Figure 2.17. Some examples drawn from everyday life are:
a car being driven at 60 km h1
ball bearings being rolled on a very smooth horizontal surface
a person jogging
water flowing in a pipe.
Accelerated motion is also easy to find. Examples are:
objects falling freely under gravity
a car moving away from the traffic lights
an aircraft being catapulted by a steam catapult from an aircraft carrier.
Figure 2.17
Motion graphs showing corresponding
displacementtime, velocitytime
s v a and accelerationtime relations
for situations of constant velocity
and constant acceleration.
0 t 0 t 0 t
constant velocity
s v a
0 t 0 s 0 t
constant acceleration

Figure 2.18 Case 2: Constant (uniform) acceleration

Graphs representing this type of motion are also shown in Figure 2.17. Objects falling freely
under gravity are the most common examples of this.
s
Another case of constant acceleration is for an object slowing down (decelerating or
negative acceleration). Figure 2.18 shows graphs of this motion.
0 t The quantities displacement, time, velocity and acceleration are all related to each other.
In this book the symbols shown in Table 2.8 will be used.
Ta b l e 2 . 8
v QUANTITY QUANTITY SYMBOL UNIT UNIT SYMBOL
Displacement s metres m
0 t Initial velocity u metres per second m s1
Final velocity v metres per second m s1
Acceleration a metres per second per second m s2
Time (elapsed) t second s
0
a Development of formulas
final velocity initial velocity
t 1 Acceleration = :
time
a = v u or v = u + at (1)
t
A car travels from A to B at an s u+v
2 Average velocity = and also equals
average speed of 100 km/h and t 2
returns at 60 km/h.
What is the average speed for
the journey? u+v s (u + v)t
= or s = (2)
2 t 2
3 If we substitute equation (1) into (2) we get:
s = (u + (u + at))t or s = ut + 1
at 2
2 2 (3)
4 From equation (1) we get t = v u. Substituting this into equation (2), we get:
a
s = u + v v u or 2as = (u + v)(v u)
2 a
2as = v 2 u 2
v 2 = u 2 + 2as (4)
Note: these formulas only apply when the acceleration is constant and the motion is in a
straight line. Velocity, acceleration and displacement are vector quantities and therefore may
be positive or negative.
We can finally summarise the equations of motion as listed in Table 2.9.

Ta b l e 2 . 9 S U M M A RY O F F O R M U L A S N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A column of troops 3 km long
MOTION WITH UNIFORM VELOCITY MOTION WITH UNIFORM ACCELERATION
is marching along a road. An
officer rides from the rear to the
v = constant a = constant head of the column and back
s v+u once, and he reaches the rear of
vav = vav =
t 2 the column just as an advance
s = vt v = u + at of 4 km has been made from
1 2 where he first left.
s = ut + at
2 How far did he ride?
v 2 = u 2 + 2as
(u + v)t
s=
2
Example 1
A car starts from rest and reaches a velocity of 60 km (16.67 m h1
in 8 seconds. s1) A man goes from A to B at
Assuming the acceleration to be constant, calculate (a) the acceleration and (b) the 30 km/h.
displacement in this time interval. How fast must he return to
average 60 km/h for the
Solution whole trip?
Data: u = 0, v = 16.67 m s1, t = 8 s, a = ?, s = ?
(a) a = v u = 16.67 0 = 2.08 m s 2.

t 8
s = ut + 1 at 2 = 0 + 1
(b) 2.08 8 2 = 66.6 m.
2 2
Example 2
A train starting from rest travels 30 m in 6 s. Find (a) its acceleration and (b) its velocity
after the 6 s.
Solution
Data: u = 0, s = 30 m, t = 6 s, a = ?, v = ?
(a) s = ut + 1 at 2
2
1
30 = 0 + a6 2
2
30 = 18a
a = 1.67 m s 2.
(b) v = u + at
= 0 + 1.67 6
= 10 m s 1.
Questions
21 Table 2.10 will give you practice in selecting equations of motion and substituting
values into them. Complete the table but do not write in this book.

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Ta b l e 2 . 1 0
A boy is carried up an escalator QUESTION s (m) u (m s 1 ) v (m s 1 ) a (m s 1 ) t (s)
in 1 minute. He can walk up a
stationary escalator in 3 minutes. (a) 0 2.5 3
How long will it take him to walk (b) 100 0 2.4
up a moving escalator? (c) 10 25 2
(d) 300 9 1.5
(e) 40 2 4
(f) 10 5 2.5
(g) 160 50 8
22 A cyclist starts from rest and attains a velocity of 21 m s1 in 3.5 seconds.

Calculate (a) the acceleration, assumed constant; (b) the displacement.
23 A bus travelling in a straight line accelerates from 60 km h1 to 100 km h1 in
1 minute. Calculate the acceleration in m s2.
24 The click beetle (Athous haemorrhoidalis) experiences an acceleration of 24 000
m s2 over a distance of 5 mm when it jack-knifes into the air to avoid predators.
For what time duration does this acceleration occur?
A C C E L E R AT I O N D U E TO G R AV I T Y 2.10
One of the most common examples of motion in a straight line with uniform acceleration is
Figure 2.19 that of an object that falls freely due to gravity. Until Galileo (15641642), people thought
Galileos data from his inclined
plane experiments.
that heavy objects fell faster than light objects. They saw no need for experiments that may
have confirmed or refuted these beliefs. They relied on the theories of Aristotle, who believed
1 2 ft
2 ft that objects fell at speeds that depended on their weight. Galileo performed some of the
41 2 ft earliest experiments, which showed that both heavy and light objects in the absence of air
8 ft
and other resistance fell with constant acceleration. Thus, two objects of different masses,
121 2 ft
dropped from the same height at the same time, should strike the ground simultaneously.
18 ft Motion due to gravity can take two main forms. The first is vertical motion, where the
30 object moves in one dimension only, that is, up and down. The second is projectile motion,
Seconds 1412 34 1 11 4 11 2 where the object moves horizontally as well as vertically, for example a stone thrown off
a cliff. Only vertical motion will be dealt with in this chapter. Projectile motion will be
discussed in Chapter 5.
Ty p e s o f f r e e - f a l l m o t i o n
Free-fall motion can be grouped into two classes:
1 The object is being dropped or thrown down.
2 The object is being thrown upward.
Positive and negative convention When dealing with calculations involving acceleration
due to gravity we need to assign a positive and negative direction of motion. In this chapter
Figure 2.20
Vertical and projectile motion. we will use the convention in which up is positive. Throughout the world, this is the most
common. It is a matter of your choice, however, but you may find it simplest to stay with the
projectile one convention.
motion Acceleration due to gravity is constant at 10 m s2 in the negative direction (down),
hence a = 10 m s2. This means that an object will increase its velocity in the negative direc-
tion by 10 m s1 every second, or by 10 metres per second per second. Students often think
vertical that a negative acceleration means deceleration or slowing down but this is not always so. If
motion
an object is moving in the negative direction (down) and has negative acceleration then it
will get faster in that negative direction. If it is moving in the positive direction (upward)
and has a negative acceleration then it is slowing down in that positive direction.

Case 1: Dropped or thrown down N OV E L C H A L L E N G E

Most typically, these situations involve dropping a rock off a cliff or throwing something If you put a row of coins on a
vertically downward. In both cases the velocity increases. The only difference is the initial 1 metre ruler that has one end
velocity. When dropped, the initial velocity is zero but when thrown down the velocity begins on the ground and let the other
at some negative value. Either way, the velocity increases in the negative direction. end fall, which coins will stay
on the ruler and which ones will
Example 1 be left behind?
A spanner is dropped from a sixth-floor window and takes 2.2 s to hit the ground. Calculate
(a) the height from which it was dropped and (b) its impact velocity.
Solution
Take the downward direction as negative.
Data: u = 0 m s1; a = 10 m s2; t = 2.2 s; s = ?; v = ?
1 2
(a) s = ut + at
2
1
=0+ 10 2.2 2
2
= 24.2 m
(b) v = u + at
= 0 + 10 2.2
= 22 m s 1
Example 2 T H E P OW E R O F M I N U S
The Zero Gravity Research Facility at the NASA Research Centre includes a 150 m drop tower. (a) In 1962, the Mariner I
This is an evacuated vertical tower through which a 1 m diameter sphere can be dropped. If mission launched towards
this sphere is projected downward at an initial speed of 5 m s1, how long would it take to Venus but the rocket
reach the bottom? separated from the boosters
too soon and plunged into
Solution the ocean 4 minutes after
Data: s = 150 m; u = 5 m s1; a = 10 m s1; t = ? take-off. Some klutz left a
negative () sign out of the
1 computer program.
s = ut + 2
at 2 (b) The old equation for the
energy of a photon was
1
150 = 5 t + 10 t 2 1/ mv2 = hf. Einstein
2
2
added W and got a Nobel
5t 2 + 5t 150 = 0 Prize.
t 2 + t 30 = 0
(t 5) (t + 6) = 0
Hence t = 6 s or t = +5 s. The answer must be 5 s as the negative time is not meaningful

here.
Note: in cases where the quadratic equation doesnt factorise simply as shown above, the
quadratic formula will be needed:
Quadratic formula: x = b b 4ac

2
2a
Without the quadratic formula you would first need to calculate v.

Example 3
A person aboard a balloon moving downward at 30 m s1 drops a sandbag at an elevation of
500 m. (a) What time will it take for the sandbag to hit the ground? (b) What will be the
speed of the bag on impact?
Solution
Data: s = 500 m; u = 30 m s1; a = 10 m s2; t = ?
1
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E (a) s = ut + at 2
2
A flea (Pulex irritans) can
1
jump about 4 m high. If the 500 = 30t + 10 t 2
2
flea was a big as a person, how
high would it be able to jump t 2 + 6t 100 = 0
(proportionally)? t = b b 2 4ac = 6 6 2 4 1 100
2a 21
= 6 20.9
2
= 13.4 s or +7.4 s
The negative time has no real meaning in this case, so the answer is 7.4 s.
(b) v = u + at
= 30 + 10 7.4
= 30 + 74
= 104 m s 1
Remember, the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity (g) is about 9.8 m s2. This
means that an object falling freely under gravity increases its speed by about 10 m s1 every
second. It is given the negative sign because we have adopted the convention that upward
is positive and downward is negative.
Activity 2.4 VERTICAL MOTION ON THE SPREADSHEET

If you have access to a computer and are familiar with spreadsheeting, set up a spreadsheet
with the following headings (Table 2.11):
Ta b l e 2 . 1 1 S P R E A D S H E E T
A B C
1 t (s) s (m) v (m s1)
2 0 0 0
3 1
4 2
1 The formula for cell B2 would be = (0.5 * 9.8*A2*A2) for example.

2 Extend Column A to 20 seconds and compute the value for all cells.
3 Use the graph commands to draw st and vt graphs. Are they what you would
expect?
4 Discuss your output.

Case 2: Throwing an object upward Figure 2.21

Trajectory of an object thrown
When a ball is thrown vertically upward, it starts at a high initial velocity in the positive vertically.
direction, gradually slows to a halt at the top of its flight and gradually increases velocity in
top of flight v = 0
the negative direction until it returns to the ground. a = 10 m s -2
Figure 2.21 shows the flight of the ball; although its downward path is exactly the same t = 1 ttotal
2
as the upward path, it is drawn slightly to the right for clarity.
Note: it can be shown that:
velocity equals zero at the top of flight
time of flight up equals time down
acceleration is constant even at the top of flight when velocity is zero
initial speed equals final speed a = 10 m s -2 a = 10 m s -2
final velocity equals the negative of the initial velocity
air resistance is negligible and can be neglected.
Example
A ball is thrown vertically upward at 20 m s1. Ignoring air resistance and taking g = 10 m s2,
calculate (a) how high it goes; (b) the time taken to reach this height; (c) the time taken
to reach the ground from the highest point; (d) the final velocity; (e) time of flight.
Solution u = +20 m s -1 v = 20 m s -2
Data: Taking down as negative: u = +20 m s1, a = 10 m s2, s = 0 m.
(a) At the top of flight v = 0 m s 1:

v 2 = u 2 + 2as
0 = (+20) 2 + 2 10 s
20s = 400
s = 20 m (i.e. 20 m up in the air).
(b) v = u + at
0 = + 20 + 10t
t=2s
(c) The ground is 20 m in the negative direction from the top of flight.
Hence s = 20 m:
1
s = ut + at 2
2
20 = 0 + 5t 2
t=2s
(d) v = u + at
= 0 + 10 2
= 20 m s 1
(e) Time up = 2 s; time down = 2 s. Hence total time of flight equals 4 s. Using the
equations of motion it can be shown that when the displacement is zero, the
time for this to occur is zero seconds (the start) and 4 seconds (the finish):
1
s = ut + 2
at 2
1
0 = +20t + 2
10t 2
5t 2 = 20t
t=4s

Questions
25 A rock is dropped off a cliff and it takes 4 s to reach the base below. How high is
the cliff?
26 A pot-plant falls 25 m from rest to the ground below.
(a) What is its impact velocity?
(b) What time did it take to fall?
27 A rock is launched vertically upward from the ground at a starting speed of 35 m s1.
(a) What is the maximum height reached?
(b) What time does it take to reach this maximum height?
(c) What time does it take to fall back to the ground again?
28 A person in a balloon moving vertically upward at a constant speed of 4.9 m s1
drops a sandbag at an elevation of 98 m.
(a) What time will it take until the sandbag hits the ground?
(b) What will be the velocity of the sandbag on impact?
29 A startled armadillo leaps upward and rises 54.4 cm in 0.20 s and keeps rising.
(a) What was its initial speed? (b) What is its speed at this height?
(c) How much higher does it go?
G R A P H S O F F R E E - FA L L M OT I O N 2.11
The two most common types of free-fall motion mentioned in the previous section can be
examined graphically. Case 1 is that of an object dropped off a cliff. Figure 2.22 shows the
relationship between a velocitytime graph (b) and its corresponding accelerationtime
graph (a) for this type of free-fall motion. The downward direction is negative.
Figure 2.22 (a) Time (s)

(a) An accelerationtime graph; 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(b) a velocitytime graph.
Acceleration (m s2)
(The shaded area indicates the 0

displacement.) -2
-4
-6
-8
-10
(b) Time (s)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0
-20
Velocity (m s1)
-40
-60
-80
-100
-120

Case 2 is that of an object thrown upward into the air and allowed to return to its starting
place. Figure 2.23 shows the graphs of motion of a ball thrown in this manner. Note that the
acceleration is constant, even at the top of flight when the ball is stationary. Again, down is
negative.
v (m s1) a (m s2) Figure 2.23
+ maximum +10
up height
0 0
t (s) t (s)
down
area = displacement 10
Questions
30 What does the slope of the line in the vt graph of Case 1 (Figure 2.22) represent?
31 Which one of the graphs in Figure 2.24 is the displacementtime graph of the
rocks motion in Case 2 (Figure 2.23)?
s (m) A s (m) B s (m) C s (m) D Figure 2.24
+ + + +
0 0 0 0
t (s) t (s) t (s) t (s)
32 Draw a displacementtime graph of the motion of the ball as described in Case 1

(Figure 2.22).
2.12 M E A S U R I N G M OT I O N
Motion of an object can be recorded by using a ticker timer as shown in Photo 2.3. It has Photo 2.3
A ticker timer.
been specifically designed for physics experiments and has little other use outside the physics
laboratory. It consists of a pointed hammer, which vibrates up and down 50 times per second.
When a paper tape is pulled through the timer, a piece of carbon paper allows an imprint of
the hammer to be made on the paper. The distance between successive dots can be used to
calculate the velocity of the moving object as the time interval is a constant 501 of a second
(0.02 second).
Consider a section of tape as shown in Figure 2.25. Table 2.12 lists the data from the tape.
direction being pulled
A B C D E F G H
Figure 2.25
A segment of ticker timer tape.
Ta b l e 2 . 1 2
DOT A B C D E F G H
t (seconds) 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14
s (cm) 0 0.3 1.1 2.6 4.6 7.1 10.3 14.0
v (cm/s) 0 27.5 57.5 87.5 112.5 142.5 172.5

The average velocity can be determined by dividing the total displacement (14.0 cm) by
the time elapsed (0.14 s) to give 100 cm s1. The instantaneous velocity at each dot can be
calculated by measuring the distance travelled between dots either side of the one being con-
sidered. For example, to calculate the velocity at dot D, the distance between dots C and E is
measured (3.5 cm see Figure 2.26) and this is divided by the time interval (2 0.02 s).
The velocity at D is thus 87.5 cm s1. The velocity of the other dots can also be calculated.
Figure 2.26 s
Tape.
B C D E F
If acceleration is constant, a graph of velocity vs time should be linear and the slope of
this line will equal the acceleration.
To calculate the acceleration at a point, the velocity at the dot before this point and at
the dot after the point should be determined. The difference (v u), when divided by the
time elapsed, will equal the acceleration.
For example, the acceleration at point D can be calculated by subtracting the velocity at
C from the velocity at E and dividing by 0.04 seconds: vC = 57.5 cm s1, vE = 112.5 cm s1,
v = 55
hence v = vE vC = 55 cm s1. The result: aD = = 1375 cm s2 is the acceler-
t 0.04
ation at D. The acceleration at E likewise is 1375 cm s2. You should check this for yourself.
Questions
33 The following questions refer to the section of tape described above.
(Figure 2.26)
(a) Plot the displacement vs time graph of the data above.
(b) Calculate the slope of the graph at points C and F. How do these slopes
compare with the calculated velocity at these points?
(c) Plot the velocity vs time graph of the above data.
(d) Calculate the area under the line to point G. How does it compare with the
displacement at G (10.3 cm)?
(e) Calculate the slope of the velocity vs time graph. How does it compare with
the calculated acceleration (1375 cm s2)?
34 The following questions refer to the ticker tape shown in Figure 2.27.
Figure 2.27
For question 34. A B C D E F G
(a) Draw up a data table similar to Table 2.10 and measure the displacements
using your ruler. Enter the displacements in your data table. Do not write in
this book.
(b) Plot a displacementtime graph.
(c) Calculate the slope of the tangent at point E.
(d) Calculate the velocity at each dot and add to the data table.
(e) How does the velocity at E compare with the slope at E on the st graph?
(f) Plot a velocitytime graph and draw a line of best fit.
(g) Calculate the slope of the line.
(h) Calculate the acceleration at points B, C, D and E and add these to the data table.
(i) How does this compare with the slope of the vt graph?
(j) Calculate the displacement at point F by measuring the area under the vt
graph. How does it compare with the actual displacement at F as measured
on the tape?

ELECTRONIC RECORDING AND COMPUTER

2.13
I N T E R FA C I N G
There are several devices that enable motion to be recorded electronically. Data-loggers are
used extensively in research and industry to monitor the performance of various devices under
test. The data-logging system comes with a package including an interface system and
various sensors to pick up data from the environment such as motion, temperature, voltage,
sound and light. The sensor converts physical or chemical changes into electrical signals;
these analog signals are carried to the interface system where the signals are digitised. Such
digital signals can be analysed and displayed on the computer monitor and calculations can
be performed. The graphical display function that accompanies data-logging programs trans-
forms data into graphs, which help show trends and anomalies.
Data-loggers are used for measuring not only motion but also an enormous range of other
data. You will have heard of the heart monitors in hospitals and black box flight recorders in
planes. But they are also used for purposes as diverse as designing and producing torpedos,
counting biscuits on a production line, measuring causes of stress on individual soldiers in
combat situations, and monitoring the drying of paint and curing in industrial ovens. Data-
logging equipment is in use at smelters, refineries, tailings dams, mines, landfills, construc-
tion sites, manufacturing and processing plants, and industrial and hazardous waste sites; and
meteorological conditions can be monitored to yield data for determining air stability or for
use in air quality and dispersion modelling.
A c t i v i t y 2 . 5 DATA - L O G G E R I N M OTO R S P O RT
Try the following as a good stimulus response task, or it could be the start of a
non-experimental investigation.
Photo 2.4
Racing cars Formula One racing cars have a
huge number of transducers being
An interesting use of data-logging is in the racing car industry. Car manufacturers need to run monitored by data-loggers to give
their cars at high speeds for predetermined times as part of their endurance testing program, them a winning edge. Shown here is
world champion Michael Schumacher
so they are packed with temperature and pressure sensors that feed data into computers. in his Ferrari F2002, winning the
The success of a racing car depends on hundreds of components working together at peak French Grand Prix.
performance under the most extreme conditions. Components such as displacement sensors
are designed to control and monitor a growing number of vital functions on racing cars and
supply information to engineers, who can then help trim precious seconds off the cars lap
times. Although most categories of motor racing do not allow the performance of the suspen-
sion to be modified during a race, the use of computerised data-logging in testing and prac-
tice allows race engineers to tune the suspension to match the particular conditions and type
of circuit.
Monitoring the movement of the suspension with displacement sensors allows electrical
signals to feed back to the logging/telemetry system and then display a graphical represen-
tation of the cars performance around a track. Using the data, engineers can easily recognise
areas where improvements can be made, and fine-tune the car by adjusting ride heights and
stiffness to suit a particular track and driver. Movement of the suspension can usually be
sensed by a linear displacement sensor, but some need rotary sensors.
Throttle controls have a rotary motion, so a rotary displacement transducer (sensor) can
be attached to the linkage. The position of the throttle mechanism is usually in a very
hostile environment such as the top of the engine or underneath air intake ducts, so either
device must be extremely rugged and able to withstand high levels of shock, vibration and
high temperatures.

Photo 2.5 Special paddles on the drivers steering wheel electronically control the clutch actuating
Many calculator manufacturers - mechanism on todays high-performance racing cars, overcoming the need for the driver to
including Texas Instruments and
Casio - make attachable data
use the feet to engage or disengage the clutch. This arrangement allows faster up-changing
loggers. In this photo a TI-CBL2 and down-changing of the gears during acceleration and braking.
computer based laboratory (data When it comes to braking, recent developments in GT and Formula One brake caliper
logger) is connected to a TI-83
graphing calculator. The CBL/CBR
design have enabled systems to be fitted to monitor the wear of the brake pads and discs
program shown on the displat during a race. Advising the driver to back off by one second a lap can make a significant
provides the interface for this to difference to brake wear. The movement of the brake caliper piston is sensed by a very small
work. A huge range of probes are
available to connect to these
sensor embedded in the caliper body, which has been specially designed to withstand
devices. extremes of shock and vibration from the track as well as the high temperatures from the
brake discs. The back of the brake pads can reach temperatures as high as 400C, while
the caliper body can reach 150200C. On Formula One cars up to eight sensors per car are
fitted. The signals from the sensor are fed to the cars data-acquisition system and can tell
race engineers the condition of the brake pad and disc wear characteristics.
Question: As a work experience student you have been asked to prepare a leaflet for some Year
8 students who will be visiting the racing car development laboratories of the Ford Motor
Company. In 200 words what would you say?
Questions
35 A car moving at 30 m s1 decelerates at a uniform rate of 1.5 m s2. How many
seconds will it take to stop and how far will it travel in this time?
36 Analysis of traffic camera data shows that a car 4 m long takes 1.2 seconds to
cross an intersection 16 m wide. The time taken is from the moment the cars
headlights enter the intersection to the moment the tail-lights depart. Was the
car exceeding the speed limit of 60 km h1?
Practice questions
*37 To help you rearrange equations and substitute numbers, do these simple
calculations (Table 2.13):
Ta b l e 2 . 1 3
DISPLACEMENT TIME VELOCITY
(a) 300 m 6s
(b) 150 km 4 h 30 min
(c) 30 s 340 m/s
(d) 3 h 15 min 220 km/h
(e) 300 m 15 m/s
(f) 3.5 106 km 65 km/h
*38 The best time by an Australian in the 40 km marathon is that of Robert de

Castella, who ran the Boston Marathon in 1986 in 2 h 7 min 51 s.
Calculate: (a) his average speed; (b) the time it would take Michael Johnson
if he ran the distance at 10.15 m s1.
*39 The fastest lap of the British Motorcycle Grand Prix at Donnington Park was in
1993 by Luca Cadalora on a 500 cc Yamaha in 1 min 34.716 s, averaging
152.908 km/h. (a) How long is the track? (b) If the race was 30 laps and he
took 47 min 45.630 s, what was his average speed for the race?

*40 Australian fast bowler Brett Lee was electronically timed to deliver a cricket ball
at 157.4 km h1 in the second test against South Africa in 2002. How many
seconds would it take for the ball to travel the 20 m length of the cricket pitch?
*41 A person runs in a straight line 84 m south in 9.0 s and then 160 m north in
18.0 s. What is his (a) displacement; (b) average speed; (c) average velocity?
*42 A car travels on a straight road for 50 km at 30 km h1. It then continues in the
same direction for another 20 km at 60 km/h. What is the average velocity of the
car during this trip?
*43 The graph in Figure 2.28 shows the displacement of a radio-controlled car being Figure 2.28
driven in a straight line: For question 43.
(a) What is its displacement after 3 s?
(b) Calculate how far it travelled in the 6 s. 15
Displacement (m)
(c) At what stage was its velocity the greatest? 10
(d) When was it stationary? 5
(e) When was its velocity constant but not zero? 0
(f) What was its velocity at 5 s? 5
*44 Practise applying the acceleration formula by completing Table 2.14. Do not
10
write in this book.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ta b l e 2 . 1 4 Time (s)
v (m s 1 ) u (m s 1 ) t (s) a (m s 2 )
(a) 100 40 3.5 ?
(b) 60 130 0.85 ?
(c) 250 ? 1.5 4.0
(d) 16.7 27.0 ? 1.5
(e) 0.55 0.15 ? 60
(f) ? 0 1.2 103 2.0
*45 A car with an initial velocity of 3.0 m s1 has a velocity of 34 m s1 after 3.0 s.
Calculate (a) its acceleration; (b) its average velocity; (c) how far it moved in
its third second of motion; (d) its speed after travelling 20 m.
*46 The graph in Figure 2.29 shows the motion of a girl on rollerblades as a function Figure 2.29
of time. For question 46.
(a) Calculate her displacement after 50 seconds.
(b) Calculate the distance she travelled in the minute. 15
Velocity (m/s)
(c) At what stage was her acceleration the greatest? 10

(d) When was she stationary? 5
(e) When was her velocity constant but not zero? 0
*47 Table 2.15 will give you practice in selecting equations of motion and substituting 5
values into them. Complete the table but do not write in this book. 10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Ta b l e 2 . 1 5
Time (s)
QUESTION s u v a t
(m) (m s 1 ) (m s 1 ) (m s 2 ) (s)
(a) 0 3 1.5
(b) 200 0 1.4
(c) 20 65 2.6
(d) 315 7.5 2.5
(e) 400 25 0.4
(f) 30 8.7 2.3
(g) 1550 80 800

**48 A cyclist is travelling at a constant 10 m s1 when he begins to coast up a hill.

Assuming that he decelerates uniformly at 1.8 m s2, calculate (a) how far he
will travel before coming to rest; (b) how long this will take.
**49 A pedestrian steps on to the road while an approaching car is travelling at
30 km h1. If the drivers reaction time is 0.3 s and the braking deceleration is
4.5 m s1, calculate (a) the stopping distance; (b) the stopping time.
**50 A car travelling at 100 km h1 takes 65 m to stop after the driver sees a child run
on to the road chasing a ball. If the drivers reaction time is 0.25 s, calculate the
deceleration of the car.
*51 In the 1993 British Motorcycle Grand Prix, Kevin Schwantes was eliminated after a
crash. Australian Motorcycle News described the crash: Schwantes was the first to
crash after asking too much of a cold rear tyre. He hit the grass at 290 km/h and
slid to a halt in a set of sand traps 50 m down the track. Calculate Schwantes
deceleration in this accident.
*52 The results of experiments published in 1966 show that nerve impulses can
travel at 288 km/h in the human body. How many seconds would elapse if they
travelled at this speed from your toe to your brain (say 170 cm)? Assume the
speed is constant.
*53 The Lee Enfield Rifle (.303) was used by Commonwealth Forces during the
Second World War. Its projectiles had a muzzle velocity of 745 m s1 and came
to rest at a range of 700 m. Calculate (a) the deceleration (assumed uniform);
(b) the time of flight.
*54 Suppose a rocketship in deep space moves with a constant acceleration of
9.8 m s2, which will give the illusion of normal gravity during the flight.
(a) If it starts from rest, what time will it take to reach a speed one-tenth that
of the speed of light (3 108 m s1)? (b) How far will it travel in doing so?
**55 Consider a case where air resistance is taken into account. A tennis ball was
dropped from a 120 m high cliff and accelerated uniformly to a terminal speed
of 20 m s1 after 5 s. From then on to the ground it travelled at this speed.
Calculate (a) its acceleration over the first 5 s; (b) how far it travelled before
it reached terminal speed; (c) its total time of flight; (d) its impact velocity;
(e) its average velocity for the entire flight.
**56 Consider cases where an object is thrown vertically into the air. In these cases
upward is still the positive direction. Time of flight means the total time from
launch to impact. Complete Table 2.16:
Ta b l e 2 . 1 6
INITIAL VELOCITY TIME OF FLIGHT MAXIMUM
u (m/s) t (s) HEIGHT s (m)
(a) 10
(b) 100
(c) 5.5
**57 The single cable supporting a construction elevator breaks when the elevator
passes the sixth floor (25 m) on its way up while at a speed of 3.0 m s1.
(a) Calculate velocity on impact. (b) How much time will elapse before the
elevator strikes the ground?
**58 In an experiment to investigate the relationship between time, displacement,
velocity and acceleration, a trolley was allowed to run down an inclined plane
with its motion being recorded by a ticker timer. Figure 2.30 shows a 1 m length
of the tape cut into five continuous segments so that it can be displayed in this
textbook. Note the time interval between successive dots is 0.02 second.

Figure 2.30
A B C D A ticker timer tape cut into five
segments to fit the page.
E F
Part A Displacement
(a) Every fifth dot was marked alphabetically. Check that this is correct.
(b) Calculate the time elapsed for each lettered dot and measure the
displacement of each dot from the start. Add this to the data table (Table 2.17).
Do not write in this book. Redraw the data tables or photocopy them.
Ta b l e 2 . 1 7
DOT A B C D E F G H
t (seconds) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3
s (cm)
(c) Plot a graph of t (x-axis) versus s (y-axis).

(d) What is the displacement of the last lettered dot (I)?
Part B Velocity
(e) Draw tangents at each of the lettered dots C, E and G and calculate their
slope. Add to Table 2.18 in the second row (slope).
Ta b l e 2 . 1 8
DOT A B C D E F G H
t (seconds) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Slope (cm/s)
v (cm/s) 0
(f) Calculate the velocity of each lettered dot by measuring the distance
between dots either side of each lettered dot and dividing by the time interval
(2 0.02 s). Add these data to Table 2.19. in the v row.
(g) How does the average velocity for each lettered dot compare with the
instantaneous velocity as calculated from the slope of the st graph in
Question (c)?
(h) For the average velocity as calculated in question (g) plot velocity vs time
(x-axis) and draw a line of best fit.
(i) Determine the area under the graph up to the last lettered dot (I). How does
this compare with the measured displacement of dot I?
Part C Acceleration
(j) Calculate acceleration by measuring the slope of the graph of vt.
(k) Calculate acceleration from the tape for dots C, E and G by subtracting the
velocity five dots before from the velocity five dots after and dividing by the
time interval over the ten dots. For example, to calculate the velocity at C,
subtract the velocity at B from the velocity at D and divide by ten dot intervals
of time. Add this to Table 2.19.

Ta b l e 2 . 1 9
DOT A B C D E F G H I
t (seconds) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
v1 (cm s1)
v2 (cm s1)
a (cm s2)
(l) Plot a graph of acceleration vs time and draw a line of best fit.
(m) Calculate the average acceleration by averaging the acceleration at the
lettered dots C, E and G.
(n) How does the value of average acceleration compare with the slope of the
vt graph?
Note: if you have access to a computer and spreadsheet, you may like to set up
the spreadsheet to make the various calculations.
**59 Table 2.20 is taken from a Wheels Magazine comparison of some popular
four-cylinder cars.
Ta b l e 2 . 2 0
MAZDA 626 SUBARU LIBERTY TOYOTA CAMRY
Engine capacity (litres) 1.991 2.212 2.164
Engine Max. power (kW) 85 100 95
Top speed (km/h):
First gear 63 62 63
Second gear 113 118 113
Third gear 174 175 176
Fourth gear 190 195 185
Acceleration (seconds):
060 km/h 5.7 5.2 5.8
080 km/h 9.3 8.3 9.3
0100 km/h 13.6 12.0 13.6
0120 km/h 20.1 17.5 20.1
Standing 400 m (km/h): 19.1 (117) 18.3 (123) 19.1 (118)
4070 km/h 4.1 3.5 3.9
6090 km/h 5.5 4.9 5.5
80100 km/h 7.2 6.0 7.1
100130 km/h 10.6 9.0 11.0
(a) Which car has the best overall acceleration? Justify your choice.
(b) Which, if any, of the cars reaches its maximum speed in less than 400 m?
(c) Does a cars ability to accelerate get progressively less at higher speeds?
Justify your answer.
(d) Calculate the distance over which the 4070 km h1 acceleration test would
have occurred for the Toyota.
(e) List five other criteria that would be important to include in a car
comparison.
(f) The greater the engine power, the greater the acceleration. Comment
critically on this claim with reference to the above data.
(g) The greater the engine capacity the greater the acceleration. Comment
critically.

Extension complex, challenging and novel

***60 Chris beats Sandy by 10 m in a 100 m sprint. Chris, wanting to give Sandy an
equal chance, agrees to race her again but to begin 10 m behind the starting
line. Does this really give Sandy an equal chance?
***61 The General Dynamics F-111 jet has been in service with the RAAF since 1963.
Its maximum speed above 50 000 feet is 825 m s1 (Mach 2.5) but this drops to
396 m s1 (Mach 1.2) at sea level because of air resistance. Calculate the
deceleration as an F-111 drops and decreases speed as stated in 30 s.
Note: Mach numbers are the number of times the speed is greater than the
speed of sound at that place (330 m s1).
***62 Two bus stops are 1200 m apart. A bus accelerates at 0.95 m s2 from rest
through the first quarter of the distance and then travels at constant speed for
the next two quarters and decelerates to rest over the final quarter.
(a) What was the maximum speed? (b) What was the total time taken for the
journey? (c) Draw a vt graph of the journey.
***63 A basketball player, standing near the basket to grab a rebound, jumps 76.0 cm
vertically. On his way up, how much time does he spend (a) in the bottom 15 cm
of his jump; (b) in the top 15 cm of his jump? Does this help to explain why
such players seem to hang in the air at the tops of their jumps?
***64 A juggler tosses balls vertically into the air. How much higher must they be
tossed if they are to spend twice as much time in the air?
***65 A stone is dropped off a bridge 50 m above the water. Exactly 1 s later another
stone is thrown down and both stones strike the water together. (a) What must
the initial speed of the second stone have been? (b) Plot a vt graph of both
stones on the one graph.
***66 Who would have the more thrilling ride: Kitty ONeil in her dragster, which
reached 628 km/h in 3.72 s or Eli Beeding who reached 116 km/h in 0.04 s on
a rocket sled? Justify your choice by commenting on what determines how
thrilling a ride might be the speed, the time, the acceleration or something
else.
***67 A person standing on the edge of a cliff throws a ball straight up with speed u,
allowing it to crash on to the rocks below. He later throws a ball with the same
speed u straight down. Which ball has the higher speed when it hits the rocks?
Neglect air resistance.
***68 A ball is dropped down an elevator shaft and then 1 s later a second ball is
dropped. (a) How does the distance between the two balls vary as time passes?
(b) How does the ratio v1 : v2 vary with time?
***69 The Australia vs USA Nitro-Harley Challenge is the worlds richest motorcycle
drag race meeting. One of the most successful riders, Phil Hill (USA), is 61 years
old. With a 103 cubic inch nitromethane injected 350 horsepower engine he can
cover the standing quarter mile (400 m) in 7.22 seconds with a final speed of
305 km h1. The acceleration required to cover 400 m from a standing start in
7.22 s is more than the acceleration needed to reach 305 km h1 from a standing
start in the same time. How can you explain this apparent discrepancy in the
calculations?
***70 A rule-of-thumb in motorcycle drag racing is that sixty pounds is three-tenths
of a second. This is meant to show how a riders weight affects the time to cover
400 m from a standing start. Australian national record holder Bill Curry has a
best time of 6.92 s. Calculate how much his average acceleration would be if he
was 20 kg heavier.
Note: 1 kg equals 2.2 pounds.

***71 The speed of non-land-based vehicles such as ships and planes is usually
measured in knots. A knot is one nautical mile (6080 feet) per hour. To measure
the speed of a ship, a line with knots at set intervals was attached to a log that
was thrown overboard from the stern of a ship. As the log drifted away from
the ship a sailor would count how many knots passed through his fingers while
the sandglass emptied. Usually the log line had knots every 100 feet and the
sandglass emptied in 1 minute. (a) Prove that a speed of 30 knots equals
30 nautical miles per hour. (b) How many km h1 is 30 knots if 1 foot equals
0.305 metres?
***72 If you have access to a computer, set up a spreadsheet to compute the distance
an object falls, as a function of time of falling, near the surface of the Earth
(g = 9.8 m s2); our Moon (g = 1.6 m s2); Mars (g = 3.8 m s2) and the Sun
(g = 270 m s2). Compute the distance of fall for each fifth of a second from
0 to 2 seconds.
***73 The Incredible Tale of the 37-year Puzzle. This puzzle remained unsolved for
Figure 2.31
The 37-year puzzle.
37 years until Popular Science Magazine published it again in October 1976.
Two thousand responses were sent in and five different solutions appeared.
A
The problem (Figure 2.31): A man always drives at the same speed. He makes it
from A direct to C in 30 minutes; from A through B to C in 35 minutes; and
from A through D to C in 40 minutes. How fast does he drive?
B
***74 Galileos first attempt at producing a law of falling bodies was limited by his
lack of mathematical means of describing continuously varying motion. In a
10 miles letter to a friend Paolo Scarpi in 1604 he wrote: Spaces traversed in natural
motion are in squared proportion of the times, and consequently the spaces
90
D C traversed in equal times are as the odd numbers beginning with unity. And the
10 miles principal in this, that the naturally moving body increases its velocity in the
proportion that it is distant from the origin of the motion. Can you convert this
to mathematical statements and then comment on whether Galileo was correct
with these early theories?
T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G ***75 The Sukhoi Su-29 is a Russian built two-seat aerobatic competition aircraft
(Answer true or false) becoming popular in Australian competitions. If one was flying at its cruising
Two objects side by side must speed of 160 knots (298 km/h) and an altitude of 1000 m and suddenly
have the same speed. encountered terrain sloping upward at 4.3, an amount difficult to detect,
Acceleration is in the same how much time would the pilot have to make a correction if he is to avoid
direction as velocity. flying into the ground?
Velocity is a force. ***76 An article in the newspaper quoting a safety expert said that: An unrestrained
Heavier objects fall just a bit child in a 50 km/h car crash suffered the same effects as being dropped on to
faster than light ones.
concrete from a buildings second floor. It said some parents still held the belief
If velocity is zero,
that merely placing children in the back seat would protect them in a crash.
acceleration is zero.
In the absence of gravity all
Confirm or refute these comments made by the paper, making whatever
things move with equal ease. approximations are required.
At the top of its flight a ***77 A car has an oil leak from the sump and a drop falls every 2 seconds. Draw a
vertically thrown object has diagram of how the spots would appear on a 64 m driveway as the car accelerates
zero acceleration. up it from rest at 2 m s2. Assume the first drop falls at the instant the car
moves.

CHAPTER 03
Ve c t o r s a n d G ra p h i n g
3.1 V E C TO R S A N D S C A L A R S
To completely specify some physical quantity it is not sufficient to just state its magnitude.
In the previous chapter you saw that to describe the motion of an object you needed to state
its speed and the direction it was heading. In other words, its velocity. Displacement and
acceleration needed a direction too. They were all called vector quantities. The word vector
comes from the Latin vectus meaning to carry a word implying direction. In biology a
vector is an organism that carries disease from one place to another; for example, a mosquito
is the vector for malaria. In physics it means a quantity that needs both magnitude and direc-
tion to specify it fully. This chapter continues the discussion about the nature of vectors as
used in physics. Later in the chapter there is a discussion on graphing and how graphs can
be used to solve problems.
Some of the questions that puzzle students about vectors and graphs are:
Can two vectors having different magnitudes be combined to give a zero result?
Can three?
Can a vector have zero magnitude if one of its components is not zero?
If time has magnitude and a direction (past present future), is it a vector?
How can a statistician look at an unemployment graph and say the unemployment
rate is increasing whereas another statistician can say the rate is decreasing?
Ta b l e 3 . 1 S o m e s c a l a r a n d v e c t o r q u a n t i t i e s
SCALAR VECTOR
Length displacement
Photo 3.1
Speed velocity XYZ Plotter. A computer controls the
Time acceleration X, Y and Z coordinates of the cutting
head in a tool-makers workshop. A
Volume force
steel mould is cut and used to make
Mass weight plastic parts by injection moulding.
Energy momentum
Frequency torque
Pressure moment
Power electric current
Temperature electric field
Charge magnetic flux density
Representation of vectors
A vector quantity can be represented by an arrow called a vector. The length of the arrow
represents the magnitude of the vector quantity, and the direction of the arrow shows the

direction of the vector quantity. For example, Figure 3.1 shows two vectors representing the
vector quantities velocity and force:
Figure 3.1
v = 5 m/s E F = 8 N, E30N
A ranger at Mt Mungo National Note: wind directions are confusing. A wind direction is where the wind is coming from. For
Park published an booklet instance, a south-easterly breeze comes from the south-east (S45E or E45S) but is heading
entitled Twenty Family Walks. In
north-east. Be careful to draw your diagrams carefully when wind directions are mentioned.
the introduction he wrote, The
Scalar quantities require no statement about direction. For example, time = 3.5 s, mass
walks are short, ranging from a
kilometre and a half to five
= 25.5 g and current = 2.0 A are scalar quantity measurements no direction has to be
kilometres; the average is two specified. The word scalar comes from the Latin scalaris meaning pertaining to a ladder. This
and a half kilometres. refers to the stepwise change in the size of something without any reference to direction.
A What is the total length Note: in maths class you may be taught how to work with unit vectors using the symbols
of all twenty walks? i, j and k. You could still use this system in physics if you like but it wont be discussed
B What is the greatest possible further in this book.
number of walks more than
4 km long?
C If there are three walks of A c t i v i t y 3 . 1 Fi n d i n g y o u r w ay h o m e
5 km each, what is the
Photocopy a map of your local area (e.g. a street directory). Draw in the route you
greatest possible number of
walks shorter than 5 km but
normally take to school and estimate the distance travelled. Draw a straight line from
1
longer than 2 2 km? your home to the school and determine your displacement or distance as the crow flies.
Include the direction.
V E C TO R M A N I P U L AT I O N 3.2
There are many cases in the world around us where more than one vector quantity is involved.
When this is the case, we need rules to perform some form of arithmetic. We apply normal
rules to scalar quantities rules for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In
the world of vector arithmetic, these rules must also take into account direction of the
vector quantities. If you go 3 m N and then 4 m E your displacement is not 7 m. Youll see
why below.
In this book we will represent a vector by printing it in bold italics. For example, vector
A will be represented as A and vector v as v. Some books and teachers may prefer to under-
line the vector with a tilde (~), e.g. ~A, ~a, ~v instead of using bold.
Vector addition
Two or more vector quantities can be combined to produce a single resultant vector.
Case 1
Consider rowing a boat at 5 m s1 E in water that is also moving E at 1 m s1. Your actual
velocity is 6 m s1 E and is found by placing the two vector arrows head-to-tail. The resultant
is a line drawn from the tail of the first arrow to the head of the second arrow (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2 v (boat) v (river)
+ =
or
v (resultant)
Note: when adding vectors they should be placed head-to-tail and the resultant will always
start at the tail of the first arrow and end at the head of the second arrow.
Ve c t o r s a n d G r a p h i n g 57
Case 2
Consider the same boat being rowed against the current. In this case the velocity of the river is
1 m s1 W and is in the direction opposite to that of the boat and hence will slow the boat down:
v (boat) v (river) Figure 3.3
+ =
or
v (resultant)
The resultant velocity is 4 m s1
E. Note that when two vectors in the same line are
added, the resultant has a direction the same as the larger vector.
C a s e 3 : Ve c t o r s n o t i n a l i n e
Imagine you are rowing north at 3 m s1 across a river but the river current is flowing east at
4 m s1. You would be dragged off-course by the current and your resultant velocity would be
5 m s1 (Figure 3.4). Note again that the two vectors are added head-to-tail. The resultant is
a line drawn from the tail of the first arrow to the head of the second arrow. This resultant
can also be drawn as the diagonal of the parallelogram constructed by using the two given
vectors as sides. Either method is acceptable.
The solution to this problem is in two parts a magnitude component (5 m s1) and a
direction component (E36.8N). This is achieved in the following manner: Figure 3.4
1 Magnitude Because the starting vectors for the boat and river are at right angles
(N and E), Pythagorass theorem can be used. Resultant = 42 + 32 . If a scale diagram
v (boat) = 3 m/s N
was used, the resultant could be measured with a ruler. /s
5m
2 Direction Because the two vectors and the resultant form a right-angled triangle, t=
lt an
trigonometry can be used: i.e. su
re
tan = opposite side = 3 = 0.75, hence = 36.9 36.9

adjacent side 4
v (river) = 4 m/s E
Note that the order of addition is not important. Figure 3.4 could also be drawn as shown in
Figure 3.5. The resultant is still the same.
Refresher The trigonometric ratios for the right-angled triangle shown in Figure 3.6 are given Figure 3.5
below. v (river) = 4 m/s E
opposite side length adjacent side length opposite side length

sin = ; cos = ; tan =
v (boat) = 3 m/s N
hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent /s

5m
=
nt
u lta
Hint: when the calculator displays 0.75, usually you need to press shift then either sin, cos r es
or tan to convert this to the angle. Note: Latin sinus = curve.
36.9
Questions
1 Calculate the values of in the following right-angled triangles (do not write in
this book): Figure 3.6
Ta b l e 3 . 2
ADJACENT OPPOSITE HYPOTENUSE RATIO hypotenuse
(a) 10 7 tan = opposite

(b) 8 13 cos =
(c) 9 20 sin =
(d) 200 50 tan = adjacent

Note that the ratios for sin and cos are always 1.0 or less; only tan can go beyond 1.0.
If you disagree with the values of shown in the back of this book, check that your
calculator is in degrees (shown by a small DEG in the display). A common mistake occurs
when the calculator is put into radians (RAD). Ask someone near you or your teacher if you
get stuck.
Example 1
Two forces act on a crate as shown in Figure 3.7(a). Calculate the resultant force.
Solution (See Figure 3.7(b))
80
Resultant (FR) = 1002 + 802 = 128 N. The angle is found by tan = , so = 38.7.
100
Figure 3.7 (a) (b) F1 = 100 N

80 N
F2 = 80 N
FR
100 N
C a s e 4 : Ve c t o r s n o t a t r i g h t a n g l e s
In such cases, Pythagorass theorem and the three trigonometric formulas do not apply.
However, there are several other solutions you may use. Check with your teacher whether you
are expected to use these additional formulas:
Method 1 If you have the value of one angle and its opposite side use the sine rule:
a b c
sin A = sin B = sin C
Figure 3.8
Method 2 If the sine rule wont work and you have two sides and one angle you may be able
to use the cosine rule if you are familiar with it:
c 2 = a 2 + b 2 (2ab cos C)
3N 5N
60
Method 3 By dropping a perpendicular from one apex to the opposite side. This produces
two right-angled triangles, which may possibly be solved using Pythagorass theorem or
trigonometry.
P
5N Example 2
A force of 3.0 N south and 5.0 N S60W act on the same point (Figure 3.8). Determine the
total force that must be acting on that point.
120
Fr (resultant)
Solution (See Figure 3.9)
The cosine rule must be used to determine the magnitude of the resultant force:
3N
F r2 = 3 2 + 5 2 (2 3 5 cos 120)
F r = 49
Fr = 7 N
Figure 3.9 C
b a
A B
c
Use the sine rule to determine the direction:

sin sin 120 Is it best to run or walk in the
3 = 7 rain if you want to stay as dry
3 as possible? Imagine you had
sin = 7 sin 120 to get from one building to
another and the rain was falling
= 22 vertically (for simplicity).
Total force = 7 N, S38.2W. What are the benefits and
disadvantages of running
versus walking? So what should
Questions you do?
2 Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector obtained by adding
(a) displacements of 30 m E and 20 m N; (b) velocities of 16 m s1 W and
30 m s1 S; (c) forces of 20 N NW and 10 N NE.
3 Calculate the resultant force when the forces listed below act together on a
wooden log: (a) 18 N horizontal and 24 N vertical; (b) 2.5 103 N east and
1.8 103 N north; (c) 300 N horizontal (pulling) and 150 N at an angle of
25 to the horizontal (pulling).
4 A red cricket ball of mass 150 g is thrown upwards with a velocity of 20 m s1.
Gravitational acceleration allows the ball to reach a maximum height of 20 m in
a time of 2.0 s, after which it falls to the ground and strikes it 2.0 s later. From
this statement, name three scalar quantities and three vector quantities.
5 A force of 18.0 N south and 14.0 N S50W acts on the same point P. Determine
the total force acting on that point.
Vector subtraction
If your mass was 65 kg and after the Christmas holidays you had gained 5 kg, your mass would
of course be 70 kg. You could say that your change in mass was +5 kg. If, instead, you dieted
over Christmas and lost 5 kg your final mass would be 60 kg. Your change in mass would be
5 kg. You could have worked this out in Grade 8. In physics we need to be very particular in
the way we talk about change in a measurement, particularly vectors. In physics change
means difference, but with this convention:
Change in a measurement () = final measurement initial measurement

After dieting: change in mass (m) = final mass initial mass
= 60 kg 65 kg
= 5 kg
This is simple for scalar quantities like mass, temperature and bank balances. But in
physics it is also necessary to subtract vectors. In maths, you should have learnt that
subtraction is the same as adding a negative, that is, 10 8 is equivalent to 10 + 8 and the
answer is +2 either way. When subtracting vector B from vector A, the direction of vector
B is changed to its opposite and then added to vector A (head to tail).
Figure 3.10
Subtraction of vectors.
= + =
9N 6N 9N 6N 15 N
north south north north north

Example 1
A ball falling vertically strikes the ground at a velocity of 10 m s1 (downward) and rebounds
vertically upward at a velocity of 8 m s1. Calculate the change in velocity. Assume the
downward direction is negative.
Solution
Change means difference, hence:
Change in velocity (v) = final velocity initial velocity

Final velocity = +8 m s 1
Initial velocity = 10 m s 1
Change in velocity = +8 m s 1 (10 m s 1) = +18 m s 1
(the positive means upward).
This is shown in Figure 3.11.

Figure 3.11
= + =
v (final) v (initial) v (final) v (initial) resultant

= 8 m/s = 10 m/s = 8 m/s = 10 m/s = 18 m/s
upward downward upward upward upward
Example 2
A car travelling east at 20 m s1 turns and accelerates to 30 m s1 north (Figure 3.12).
Calculate the change in velocity.
Solution
Figure 3.12
Magnitude of change in velocity = 20 2 + 30 2
= 36.1 m s 1
20
Direction of change in velocity = tan 1 = 33.7
30
The change in velocity is 36.1 m s 1 in a direction N33.7W
final
(30 m s 1 N)
initial
(20 m s 1 E)
Questions
6 Calculate the change in velocity for each of these cases:
-initial Initial velocity Final velocity
(20 m s 1 W) (a) 20 m s1 south 30 m s1 north
(b) 50 m s1 west 10 m s1 east
1
(c) 25 m s north 35 m s1 east
final 1
(d) 50 m s south 20 m s1 west
(30 m s 1 N)
7 Determine the change in velocity of:
change (a) a basketball with an initial velocity of 18 m s1 down and a final velocity of
10 m s1 up;
(b) a cricket ball travelling south at 30 m s1 that struck a bat and was
deflected to square leg (90E of original path) at 25 m s1;
(c) a bus travelling north at 20 km h1, which makes a 90 turn to the right
without changing its speed.
8 A cricket ball delivered at 40 m s1 strikes the pitch at 30 to the surface and
bounces off the pitch at the same angle and speed. Calculate the change in
velocity of the ball.
3.3 R E S O LV I N G V E C TO R S I N TO C O M P O N E N T S
So far we have seen how two vectors can be added together to give a resultant third vector. Figure 3.13
The reverse process is called resolution (Latin re = back).
Why bother? In many cases it is convenient to break up a vector into two components
component
500 m
northerly
at right angles, for example vertically and horizontally. It is then sometimes easier to apply E40N
the laws of physics to the components.

Imagine that a person walked 500 m in a direction 40 to the north of east. This could
be resolved into a northerly component and an easterly component: 40
easterly component
northerly component
sin 40 = 500 m
N
Northerly component = sin 40 500 m = 321 m
Easterly component = cos 40 500 m = 383 m
Example W E
A roller is pushed along the ground with the handle at an angle of 35 to the horizontal.
(See Figure 3.14.) Calculate (a) the horizontal component of the force pushing the roller over
the ground; (b) the vertical component of the force pushing the roller into the ground. The
push on the handle is 150 N. S
Solution
Figure 3.14
FV
sin 35 = 150 N or F V = 150 sin 35 = 150 0.57 = 86 N 150 N
push
FV
FH
cos 35 = 150 N or F H = 150 cos 35 = 150 0.82 = 123 N
35
roller
FH
Questions
9 A girl pushes a shopping trolley along a horizontal path with a force of 100 N on
the handle. If the angle between the handle and the ground is 30, calculate the Figure 3.15
horizontal and vertical components of the pushing force.
10 A box of paper is being dragged along a vinyl floor by means of a rope angled
at 20 to the floor. If an 80 N force is applied to the rope, calculate (a) the component component
component of the force moving the box along the floor; (b) the component of parallel perpendicular
to incline to incline
the force tending to lift the box off the floor.
11 A 50 kg crate of rotting tomatoes rests on a 40 incline (Figure 3.15). If the
40
force of gravity acting on the crate is 500 N vertically down toward the ground,
calculate the components of the force (a) down the incline; (b) perpendicular to
the incline. Hint: work out the value of first. 500 N
3.4 R E L AT I V E M OT I O N
When several motions are combined into one, some intriguing questions arise:
In cricket, why does the bowler run to the wicket before delivering the ball?
Why do you go slower when you row a boat upstream compared with rowing
downstream?
Why are jet planes launched off aircraft carriers into the wind?
Why is it more dangerous to get out of a moving car than a stationary one?
Why is a head-on collision worse than one with another car travelling in the same
direction?

When a person drives past you in a car you say they are moving. Couldnt they say
you are moving and they are stationary? Who is right? Is this what physicists call
A passenger on a train travelling relative motion?
at 60 km/h observes that it The answers are very obvious, even without an understanding of vectors. But use of
requires 4 s for another train vectors can help us make predictions about the likely outcomes of such incidents.
100 m long to pass her.
Consider the first question about the cricketer. Imagine he could deliver a ball (B) from
What is the speed of the
a standing position at 25 m s1 relative to himself (vBC = 25 m s1). If the cricketer runs at
second train?
5 m s1 relative to the ground (vCG = 5 m s1) while delivering it, then the ball would travel up
the pitch at 30 m s1. This is a typical fast bowlers delivery speed. These motions can be
expressed in equation form:
Velocity of ball relative to ground = velocity of ball relative to cricketer +

velocity of cricketer relative to ground.
v BG = v BC + v CG
30 = 25 + 5
Note the order of symbols used in each case. When you write vBG, the first subscript
(B) refers to a body in motion and the second letter (G) refers to whatever is being used for
comparison. The second letter indicates the frame of reference, in this case the Ground.
Note also that in the equation above the two inside subscripts on the right are the same
letter (C). If this convention is always used then the two outside subscripts (B/G) are in the
order that they should appear on the left.
vBG = vBC + vCG
inside letter the same
C a s e 1 : Pa r a l l e l a n d t o w a r d e a ch o t h e r
To illustrate relative motion further, consider two trains A and B moving toward each other
on adjacent sets of tracks (Figure 3.16).
Figure 3.16 25 m s -1E

A
45 m s -1W
If train A is moving at 25 m s1 to the right (relative to the ground) and train B is moving at
45 m s1 to the left (relative to the ground) we can write their velocities as:
v AG = +25 m s 1 v BG = 45 m s 1 (G is the ground, the reference frame.)

The velocity of A relative to B is then:
v AB = v AG + v GB (using the conventions developed earlier)
We dont have a value for v GB but we do have a value for v BG. We can use the
conversion:
v GB = v BG
Hence v AB = v AG + v GB
= v AG + v BG
= +25 m s 1 + ( 45 m s 1)
= +70 m s 1
You can think of this as being the same as train B being stationary and train A coming
towards it at 70 m s1.
Note: you may prefer to assume all velocities are relative to the earth or ground (G). In this
case the G term is often omitted and the relationship becomes vAB = vA vB.
C a s e 2 : Pa r a l l e l a n d m o v i n g i n t h e s a m e d i r e c t i o n
The example of the cricketer belongs to this type. Consider another example: Car X is moving
along a highway at 100 km h1 relative to the ground and passes car Y, which is travelling at
85 km h1 relative to the ground. You should be able to find the speed of X relative to Y.
v XG = +100 km h 1 v YG = +85 km h 1
v XY = v XG + v GY = v XG + v YG = +100 km h 1 + (+85 km h 1) = +15 km h 1
Questions
12 A girl is jogging at 4 m s1 E and passes a boy who is jogging at 4 m s1 W. What
is the velocity of (a) the boy relative to the girl; (b) the girl relative to the boy;
(c) the ground relative to the girl?
13 Why is it advantageous for planes to take-off into the wind?
14 A jet aircraft has an air speed of 720 km h1 and is travelling the 4800 km west
from Sydney to Perth. If the average wind speed is 40 km h1 from the west,
how long will it take the plane to reach Perth?
15 A boat that is capable of travelling at 4.5 km h1 in still water is travelling on a
river whose current is 1.5 km h1 E. Find (a) the time it takes for the boat to
travel 3.0 km downstream relative to the shore; (b) the time the boat takes
to travel 3.0 km upstream against the current.
Case 3: Motion at right angles Figure 3.17

The analysis of relative motion is fairly straightforward when the objects are moving parallel north bank
to each other. When other angles are involved, the situation becomes more complex.
Imagine a case where a person is rowing a boat across a river as shown in Figure 3.17. In width water flow
boat
this case the motion of the boat relative to the water is north and the motion of the water
south bank
relative to the ground is west. The two motions are at right angles.
Example 1
A man can row a boat in still water at 30 m min1. He starts from the south shore of a river
600 m wide and aims due north. If the river is flowing west at 10 m min1, calculate:
(a) the velocity of the boat relative to the ground; Figure 3.18
(b) the time taken to cross the river; vWG
(c) the boats landing position on the north shore.
Solution
(a) vBG = vBW + vWG
= 30 m min1 N + 10 m min1 W
vBG = (vBW)2 + (vWG)2 = 32 m min1; = 18 (N18W). resultant vBW
vBG
(b) The boat is moving at 30 m min1 towards the opposite bank, which is 600 m
away. It doesnt matter that the current is dragging the boat sideways at the
same time. The crossing time is independent of the river current.

s 600 m north
t= 1= = 20 min
v 1 30 m min 1 north

(c) The boat is carried downstream by the current. If the boat journey took 20 minutes
and the current was flowing at 10 m min1, then the distance moved downstream is:
s 2 = v 2t = 10 m min 1 west 20 min = 200 m west
Example 2
A person wishes to cross a 100 m wide river that is flowing east at 5 m s1. If they can row a
boat in still water at 8 m s1, at what angle upstream should they head to end up on a point
on the bank directly opposite? What is their crossing time?
Solution
In this case the resultant is not the hypotenuse of the vector triangle as is more common
it is the side adjacent to the angle .
Note that the convention about subscripts still holds for this diagram. The inside subscripts
Figure 3.19 are the same (W):
vWG
v BG = v BW + v WG
Using Pythagorass theorem: v BG = 8 2 5 2 = 6.2 m s 1
resultant river is = tan 1 5/8 = 32
vBW vBG 100 m

current flow
wide Crossing time: t = s = 100 = 16 s
v 6.2
Questions
16 A boat is driven with a velocity of 4.5 m s1 relative to the water in a direction
north straight across a river that is flowing at 2.0 m s1 east.
(a) What is the boats speed relative to the ground?
(b) If the river is 100 m wide, how far downstream will the boat reach the other side?
17 An airship is fitted with motors that can propel it at 6 km h1 in still air. The
captain wishes to travel 600 km due W but there is a wind blowing at 12 km h1
from the east. Determine: (a) in what direction he must head; (b) what time his
journey will take; (c) his ground speed.
If the wind was blowing at the same speed as before but from a direction of
E30S, determine: (d) in what direction he would now have to head;
(e) what time his journey would now take; (f) his ground speed.
D R AW I N G G R A P H S 3.5
In the previous chapter you saw how graphing data was an important way of showing how
motion varied as time passed. Graphs are a useful way of showing how one quantity depends
on another.
On a graph the horizontal or x-axis is where the independent variable or cause is plotted.
This also includes variables that progress regardless of the experiment. A good example is time
elapsed, for time marches on whether any experiment is being carried out or not. The effect
of that cause is plotted on the vertical or y-axis. This is called the dependent variable.
Linear relationships: direct proportion

Suppose, for example, that an experiment is performed to determine how much a certain
rubber band stretches when masses are hung vertically from it. Data recorded from it are
shown below:
mass (g) 0 20 40 60 80
stretch (mm) 0 9 21 30 42
The relationship becomes obvious when the points are plotted (Figure 3.20). Note that Figure 3.20
each point is plotted as a dot. You should put a circle around your dots. You should do this Graph of linear relationship (y x).
or use a cross rather than just a dot by itself because if the line joining the dots goes over
the dots themselves they disappear. In this case a line of best fit is drawn. This has as many
points on the line as possible. There are usually some points that arent on the line and the 50
line should be drawn so that there is an equal number below the line as above it. Scientists
and engineers use a complex mathematical procedure (the method of least squares) to deter- 40
Stretch (mm)
mine where the line of best fit should be. In some cases the line may not pass through any
of the points. Any point that is a long way out of place is called an outlier and can be said 30
line of best fit
to be spurious. It should be noted and the reasons for its existence be discussed but it
should be left off the line. 20
If the line is straight, as in the graph in Figure 3.20, it takes the general form of:
10
yx
0
0 20 40 60 80
The proportional sign () can be replaced by an equals sign and a constant (m). Mass (g)
y = mx or y = mx + c
where x and y are the variables, m the gradient or slope of the line and c the intercept or
point where the line cuts the y-axis.
In the graph of mass versus stretch, the intercept c is zero. The slope is found by dividing
the change in y value by the change in the x value for the same section of the line. This can
be written as:
Slope (m) = change in y = y = y 2 y 1

change in x x x2 x1
Students often find it easier to remember this as rise over run where rise refers to the
y-axis and run refers to the x-axis.
40 0
The slope of the graph is given by: m = = 0.5 and the intercept c is zero. This
80 0
means that for every 1 g change in mass (x-axis), the rubber band changes by 0.5 mm in
length ( y-axis). Be careful with significant figures!
A straight line graph is said to be directly proportional. If it also passes through the
origin (0,0) it is also said to be linear.
Example Figure 3.21
The position of a car on a road is noted every 5 seconds and the following data obtained: Graph of direct proportion (y = mx + c)
t = time elapsed (seconds) 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0

s = displacement (metres) 16.0 23.5 34.0 41.0 50.0 50
(a) Plot the data. line of
(b) Calculate the average velocity (slope). 40
best fit
Distance (m)
(c) State the intercept.

30
(d) State the equation for the line.
(e) Predict the position at 25.0 s.
20
(f) State the position at 15.0 s.
Solution 10
(a) See Figure 3.21.
50.0 16.0 0
(b) Slope = = 1.7 m s1. 0 5 10 15 20
20.0 0.0
Time (s)

(c) Intercept = 16.0 m.

(d) y = mx + c, hence s = 1.7t + 16.
(e) The graph has to be extended to determine the position at 25.0 s. This is called
extrapolation. Its value is approximately 58 m. Alternatively, the value t = 25 s
could be substituted into the equation s = 1.7t + 16 to give the answer of 58.5 m.
(f) A value that is between two measured points is determined by interpolation.
Its value is 37 m.
Non-linear relationships
The most common non-linear relationships you will meet in physics are:
Figure 3.22 parabolic
Parabolic relationship (y x2). inverse
inverse square
30
exponential
logarithmic.
25
20 Parabolic relationships
Area (cm2)
15
Another direct relationship you will encounter is the parabolic relationship. The relationship
between the area of a circle (A) and its radius (r) is a good example. The data below show
10
these variables and Figure 3.22 shows a graph of the area as a function of the radius.
r = radius (cm) 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0
5
A = area (cm2) 0.0 3.1 12.6 28.3
0 Other phenomena which exhibit parabolic relationships are the paths of comets (except
0 1 2 3
Radius (cm) Halleys which is elliptical), curved mirrors in telescopes and projectiles (arrows in flight).
Figure 3.23
Boyles law apparatus Inverse proportion
(see Inverse proportion).
Consider a case in which the volume of gas in a syringe is measured as the pressure on the
syringe is increased (Figure 3.23):
platform
P = pressure (kPa) 81 159 397 792
V = volume (mL) 10 5 2 1
When the data are plotted a curve like that shown in Figure 3.24 is obtained.
Note: data is plural and should be followed by are; a single data point is called a datum,
which should be followed by is. There is a tendency lately to use data for both singular
and multiple points. To be precise you should talk about these data and not this data but
no one seems to care. It may not be important here but if your professional career involves
35 writing technical reports, you may find your work is judged on simple grammar as much as
30 anything else.
25 syringe In the case above, the dependent variable (y-axis) decreases as the independent variable
1 1
(x-axis) increases. In this case y or P and this is said to be inversely proportional.
20
15 gas x V
This relationship is commonly known as Boyles law.
10
5
The proportional sign () can be replaced by an equal sign and a constant (k) so that the
base
k k
equation becomes y = or P = . This implies that P V is a constant. Examination of the
x V
above data will show that P V is a constant and equals about 800. The values are slightly
above and below 800 but these are within possible errors of an experiment.
Figure 3.24
Graph of an inverse relationship
800 (y 1/x).
600
P (kPa) 400
200
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
V (mL)
Other phenomena that exhibit parabolic relationships are the paths of comets (except Halleys,
which is elliptical), curved mirrors in telescopes, and projectiles (arrows in flight).
Inverse square ( y = 1/ x 2 )
This relationship looks similar to the inverse but has a much sharper bend. This type of
relationship is very common in physics. For example, the variation in gravitational force with
distance is given by F 1/d2. Other examples you will meet that vary in an inverse square
relationship with distance are light intensity, centripetal force and electric field strength.
Figure 3.25 shows how the magnetic force between two magnets varies with separation
distance.
Exponential ( y = a x )
You will eventually meet some quantities in physics that are related exponentially. For
example, the breakdown (decay) of a radioactive substance is given by: activity ekt, where
e and k are constants and t = time elapsed. (See Figure 3.26.)
Logarithmic ( y = log a x )
A good example of this relationship is the response of the human ear (y) to sound energy (x).
(See Figure 3.27.)
1.20
900 120 000
No. of radioactive atoms left
800 1.00
100 000
700
80 000 0.80
Loudness
600
Force (N)
500 60 000 0.60

400
40 000 0.40
300
200 0.20
20 000
100
0 0 0.00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 5 10 15
Distance (m) Time elapsed Energy
Figure 3.25 Figure 3.26 Figure 3.27

Graph of inverse square relationship (y 1/x2). Graph of an exponential relationship (y = ax). Graph of a logarithmic relationship
(y = logax).

Activity 3.2 MAKING A CUP OF TEA

1 If you have an electric jug at home, determine the time it takes to boil 2 cups
(500 mL) of tap water.
2 Look underneath the jug to see what power rating the jug is. It should be
somewhere in the range of 1000 watts to 2000 watts.
3 Make a summary of the results of other people in your class and plot a graph of
boiling time (y-axis) against power rating.
4 What is the relationship between the two measurements are they inverse?
5 How could this experiment be improved to collect more reliable data?
Proving a relationship
1
You have seen that if y x, then a graph of y versus x is a straight line. Similarly, if y ,
x
1
then a graph of y versus will also be a straight line.
x
Example 1
1
For the pressure and volume data on the previous pages, plot a graph of P vs to demon-
V
strate that it is a straight line.
Solution
See Table 3.3 and Figure 3.28.
Ta b l e 3 . 3
P 81 159 397 792
V 10 5 2 1
1 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.0
V
Figure 3.28
1
Graph of P vs V for a sample of gas.
800
600
P (kPa)
400
200
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
1
V
Example 2
The displacement (s) in metres travelled by a car at various times t (in seconds) is shown
below:
t 0 2 4 6 8
s 0 8 32 72 128
Draw a graph of (a) s vs t; (b) s vs t2. What can you conclude?
Solution
(a) (b) Figure 3.29
140 140
120 120
100 100
s(m)
s(m)
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
t (s) t 2 (s 2)
Conclude that s is proportional to t2 as s vs t2 is a straight line through the origin.
Figure 3.30
Working out relationships Five common relationships
found in physics.
The shapes of graphs often give a clue to the relationship between variables. Figure 3.30
shows five graphs and the relationship each suggests. yx
A c t i v i t y 3 . 3 T H E P L OT T H I C K E N S
Part 1 0
If you have access to a computer with a spreadsheet you could construct a table that
shows these relationships. You should fill the table with at least ten rows for each yx 2
column and use a value of your choice for the gradient (m) start with 2, and experiment.
For example, the formula for Cell D2 would be A2*A2 or A2^2.
Then use the plot, graph or chart function to see the shape of each relationship. You may 0
need help to produce this spreadsheet.
A B C D E F y x
1 x-value y = mx y = mx + c y= x2 y = 1/x y= x
2 1
3 2
0
4 3
5
y 1x
Figure 3.31 Computer spreadsheet.
You may even have access to a computer with graphing programs such as Sage or
Omnigram. 0
Part 2 1
y
Try plotting sin, cos and tan of x for values of 0 to 360 degrees. x2
Part 3
What are the names of some computer applications that can be used to analyse data and
come up with a mathematical relationship between variables? You may have 0
to consult some computer magazines or professional journals such as The Australian
Physicist, the Journal of the Australian Institution of Engineers or Chemistry in Australia.

Questions
18 If W = kV, then what is the effect on W of (a) tripling V; (b) halving V ? What
does a graph of W as a function of V look like?
19 For the graphs shown in Figure 3.32, select the graph that best represents:
Figure 3.32 (a) y is proportional to x; (b) y is inversely proportional to x;
For question 19. (c) y is independent of x; (d) y is proportional to x2.
A B C D E F
y y y y y y
x x x x x x
20 Plot a graph of each of the sets of data given below. In each case draw the line
of best fit. (Note: the independent variable is listed first.)
(a) Diameter of circle (cm) 0.0 4.0 8.0 12.0
Circumference of circle (cm) 0.0 12.5 25.4 37.3
(b) Time (years) 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Height of tree (m) 0.0 0.32 0.66 1.00 1.30
(c) Time (s) 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0
Distance (m) 0.0 12 23 37
21 For each of the lines plotted in the previous question, (a) calculate the slope;
(b) extrapolate to 14 cm, 5.0 years and 8.0 seconds respectively; (c) interpolate
for 6.0 cm, 2.5 y and 3.0 s respectively.
Practice questions
*22 Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector obtained by adding
(a) displacements of 4.0 m E to 6.0 m W; (b) velocities of 5.0 m s1 E and
5.0 m s1 S; (c) accelerations of 3.2 m s2 N and 4.8 m s2 W; (d) displacements
of 5.0 m W and 5.0 m NW.
*23 Calculate the following: (a) Add 15 m N, 23 m W and 20 m S. (b) Add 20 m E,
15 m N and 25 m N30E. (c) Add 5 km NE, 20 km S and 15 m E. (d) Calculate
20 m N minus 18 m N.
**24 What is the change in velocity when:
(a) a tennis ball travelling at 80 km h1 is hit directly back at a speed of
95 km h1;
(b) a car travelling N at 45 km h1 turns west and travels at 60 km h1;
(c) a cricket ball strikes the pitch at a speed of 30 m s1 and an angle to the
ground of 28 and bounces up at an angle of 35 and a speed of 25 m s1;
(d) a 4.5 g bullet travelling west at 700 m s1 strikes a piece of armour plate and
is deflected by 40 off course with a 20% loss in speed?
*25 What are the N and E components of (a) 100 km North; (b) 50 m s1 N30E;
(c) 25 newton N40E?
**26 A man can row a boat in a northerly direction at 5 m s1 (relative to the water)
across a river 300 m wide. A current is flowing due east at 12 m s1.
(a) What is the velocity of the boat relative to the ground?
(b) What time would it take to cross the river?
(c) How far downstream would the man land on the opposite bank?
*27 For Figure 3.33, show by means of a sketch how you would (a) add the two Figure 3.33
vector quantities A and B; (b) subtract vector A from vector B; For question 27.
(c) multiply B by a factor of 3.
A
**28 Plot a graph to show the relationship between heat (H) in joule, developed in a
heater in 10 minutes by electric currents of I ampere:
Current (I ) 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.6 2.4 3.0
Heat (H ) 375 960 1500 3840 8640 13 500
Plot a further graph to find the relationship between H and I.
**29 The table below shows the height and mass of the worlds tallest man, Robert
Wadlow, from birth to death at age 22 years. Plot these data on one graph and
answer the questions that follow.
B
Ta b l e 3 . 4 R O B E RT WA D L OW S G R OW T H C H A RT
AGE (YEARS) HEIGHT (cm) MASS (kg)
0 45 3.85
5 163 48
8 183 77
9 189 82
10 196 95
11 200
12 210
13 218 116
14 226 137
15 234 161
16 240 170
17 245 143*
18 253 195
19 258 218
20 261 220 * Following influenza.
21 265 223 ** Died 15 July 1940 from a septic blister
on his ankle.
22.4** 272 199 (Source: The Guinness Book of Records)
(a) Calculate his fastest height growth rate. Include the units.
(b) What was his fastest mass growth rate?
(c) What was the cause of the negative slope in his mass growth rate? State this
rate numerically.
(d) What were the average growth rates for height and mass over his lifetime?
(e) What would his height have been at age 16.5 years?
(f) If he had lived to age 23, predict his height.
(g) Why doesnt this graph pass through the origin?
***30 A student whirls a red-brown rubber stopper of mass 50 g on the end of a nylon
string in a horizontal clockwise circle of diameter 1.2 m (as seen from above) at
a constant speed of 8 m s1. From an instant when the stopper is moving in a
northerly direction, find its change in velocity after moving round (a) one-half
of a revolution; (b) one-quarter of a revolution; (c) one-tenth of a revolution.
***31 A 50 kg crate of winter clothing is pulled along a horizontal polished vinyl floor
by means of a rope making an angle of 30 with the floor. If the pull in the rope
is 100 N, calculate (a) the effective component of the force pulling the crate
along the floor; (b) the component tending to lift the crate off the floor.

***32 A 55 year old pilot wishes to fly a 15 t Lockheed SR-71 jet plane to a place
250 km due east in 30 minutes. Find his air speed and course if there is a
southerly wind blowing at 50 km h1.
***33 Two solid ball bearings P and Q are made of the same vanadium alloy with a
density of 11.5 g cm3. The diameter of P is four times the diameter of Q. Write
the mathematical relationship between (a) the surface area of P and the surface
area of Q; (b) the volume of P and the volume of Q; (c) the mass of P and the
mass of Q; (d) the density of P and the density of Q.
***34 The volume of one plastic sphere is 35 times the volume of a second sphere.
(a) Write an equation showing the relationship between the radii of sphere 1
and the radii of sphere 2. (b) If the radius of the first sphere is 50 cm, find the
radius of the second.
***35 A wooden ramp of mass 50 kg rises vertically 3.0 m for every 5.0 m of its
length. A crate of salmon of weight 1000 N is placed on the ramp 2.0 m from
the lower end. Find the component of the weight (a) parallel to the ramp;
(b) perpendicular to the ramp.
***36 Water in a river 1.6 km wide flows at a speed of 6.0 km h1. A captain attempts
to cross the river in his ferry at right angles to the bank but by the time it has
reached the opposite bank the captain awakes and notices that it is 1.0 km
downstream. If the captain wishes to take his boat directly across, what angle
upstream must he point the boat assuming the boat speed remains the same?
***37 A coil of wire, which has a resistance of R and an inductance of L, has an
impedance Z given by the relationship: Z = R2 + 42L2f 2 where f is the
frequency of the AC electric current flowing through the coil of wire.
In an experiment to determine Z at a variety of frequencies, f, a researcher
recorded the following data:
Frequency (Hz) 0 100 200 300

Impedance (ohms) 100 121 162 210
By drawing the appropriate graph or other means, determine the values of

R and L for this component.
***38 German physicist Arnd Leike, from the University of Munich, found that the
decay of foam height in beer with time was exponential: y 1/xn, where
y = height of the foam and x = time. He was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize by the
science humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research for one of the worlds
most useless pieces of research. Using an Excel spreadsheet or your graphing
calculator, describe the difference between the graphs when
n = 3 (Leikes result) and n = 2 (inverse square).
CHAPTER 04
Forces in Action
It seems incredible that a man could start railway wagons moving just by pulling on a rope
with his teeth. Robert Galstyan of Armenia did just that in 1992: he set a world record by
pulling two carriages a distance of 7 m with his teeth. Question: how could a 100 kg man
accelerate 220 t of railway carriages from rest? Had he studied Newtons laws of motion?
4.1 SOME WRONG IDEAS ABOUT FORCES

People have often been baffled by other questions about forces:
After you shoot an arrow does it keep going until the force runs out?
If it takes a force to keep a thing moving, why doesnt the Moon crash into the Earth?
Why do racing cars have spoilers to increase wind resistance when really they want N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
to go faster?
Are there any forces acting on you if youre weightless? The average mass of Sumo
wrestlers in 1974 was 126 kg.
Cream seems more dense than milk so how come it floats on top of the milk?
In 2003 their average mass had
Cork is very lightweight but could I lift a 1 metre diameter ball of it?
risen to 157 kg. If this trend
Can rockets take off faster if they have a concrete launch pad? continues, when will they no
Which weighs more a tonne of feathers or a tonne of lead? longer be able to stand up?
Every one of these statements is based on a misconception about forces. Many of them go (The maximum mass that two
back 2000 years to Aristotles idea that a moving thing had an internal source of impetus, legs can carry is 180 kg.)
which it was given when first thrown or moved. Such an idea acted as an obstacle to the
understanding of motion for 1500 years and it still persists in students and others even today.
Other wrong ideas are:
If a body is not moving there is no force on it.
The speed of an object depends on the amount of force on it.
When the force stops, motion stops.
Its hard to convince people that these are wrong because they do sound right they seem
to agree with what we see. But two cases should help to clear up misunderstandings.
Case 1: Space travel

Objects travelling in space keep going at constant velocity when there is no external force
acting on them. The Voyager spacecraft left our solar system several years ago and is travel-
ling on long after the jets ran out of fuel. On the other hand, a hockey ball rolls to a stop
because frictional forces act on it and slow it down. Photo 4.1
Voyager spacecraft.
Case 2: Ice skater

An ice skater will continue on at constant velocity until she tries to turn. The turning is a
change in direction and hence a change in velocity. She will slow down unless she pushes off
again.
Italian scientist Galileo (15641642) used the same logic to conclude that it is un-
balanced forces that cause objects to slow down and stop. We call this force friction, a force
that resists motion between two surfaces in contact. He took the word from the Latin frictaire

Photo 4.2 meaning to rub. Galileos ideas were very bold for his time because he was not able to verify
Spring balances. them experimentally. He ended up in hot water with the Church when he asserted that other
planets were much the same as Earth and revolved around the Sun, whereas the Church taught
that the Sun revolved around the Earth.
MEASURING FORCE 4.2

Simply stated, a force is a push or a pull and it is fitting that the unit of force be named after
one of the worlds greatest physicists, Isaac Newton.
The newton (N) is commonly measured in the laboratory with a device called a spring
balance. This has a spring that extends when masses are hung on it or when other forces are
applied. The scale is calibrated in grams for mass or in newtons for force. Because the direc-
tion of the force is important, force is a vector quantity.
A c t i v i t y 4 . 1 F E E L I N G A N E W TO N
The size of 1 newton is not familiar to most people. The feel of a newton helps you in
your problem solving.
1 Obtain a spring balance calibrated in newtons and check that it reads zero when
held vertically. Adjust it if it doesnt. Pull gently to feel forces of 1 N, 2 N, 3 N etc.
2 Hang masses of 100 g, 200 g etc. on the hook to see what force is needed to hold
them up.
3 Hold a 100 g mass stationary in your hand. This requires a force of about 1 N.
4 When you sit on a bicycle, what force does your total mass exert on the bike?
5 Use bathroom scales under the front and rear wheel of your bike to see how this
force is distributed.
BA L A N C E D A N D U N BA L A N C E D F O R C E S 4.3
To study the effect of forces acting on an object we need to distinguish between balanced
and unbalanced forces. When spring balances are hooked onto either end of a cart and given
equal pulls in opposite directions (Figure 4.1), the carts remain at rest because the forces are
balanced they are equal and opposite.
Figure 4.1 forces equal
The forces on the cart are no acceleration
balanced they are equal and
opposite in direction.
3.0 N west 3.0 N east
Figure 4.2 forces unbalanced

The force on the cart is acceleration
unbalanced it is greater to
the right than to the left.
3.0 N west 5.0 N east
Fo rc e s i n A c t i o n 75
If the pull on the balance to the right was increased to 5 N (Figure 4.2), then the forces
would become unbalanced and the cart would move off in the direction of the larger force.
Example 1
The resultant force acting on the cart in Figure 4.2 can be calculated. It seems obvious but it
is important to get the setting-out correct.
Solution
Finding the resultant force is a vector addition thus: Figure 4.3
2 N north
FR = F1 + F2
= 5.0 N east + 3.0 N west
= 5.0 N east + (3.0 N east)
= 2.0 N east
If there are several forces acting on an object you should try to reduce them to a simpler case 1 N west 3 N east
by adding pairs in opposite directions first before combining with forces at angles.
Example 2
Calculate the resultant force acting on the object shown in Figure 4.3.
2.5 N south
Solution
F1 = FS + FN
= 2.5 N south + (2.0 N north)
= 2.5 N south + (2.0 N south)
= 0.5 N south
F2 = FE + FW
Figure 4.4
= 3.0 N east + (1.0 N east)
= 2.0 N east
F2
FR = 0.5 N south + 2.0 N east (see Figure 4.4)
F1
= 0.5 2 + 2.0 2
= 2.1 N
= 14 so the direction is E14S
Figure 4.5
Questions Are the forces balanced?
1 Calculate the resultant force when the following forces act on the same object:
(a) 2.4 N north, 1.8 N south, 1.9 N north; (b) 65 N down, 92 N up and 74 N up;
(c) 50 N north, 30 N west, 60 N south; (d) 26 N west, 20 N east, 30 N north,
15 N south.
2 Figure 4.5 shows a physics book held at rest in a persons hand. Two forces are
shown in the diagram. One is the weight of the book pushing down and the
other is the force of the hand pushing up.
(a) Are the forces balanced? Explain.
(b) Assume the hand was suddenly removed. Are the forces now balanced? What
would you observe?
4.4 N E W TO N S F I R S T L AW O F M OT I O N
Sir Isaac Newton was the first scientist to put Galileos ideas into the form of a universal
physical law, that is, one obeyed throughout the universe. In 1688, Newton proposed the first
law of motion:
An object maintains its state of rest or constant velocity motion unless

it is acted on by an external unbalanced force.

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E The following four examples show Newtons law applied to real life.
A fan blows a cart with a sail At rest and stays at rest

attached. Some magicians can jerk a tablecloth out from under a dinner setting of glasses and cutlery,
leaving them at rest on the table.
fan sail
In motion and stays in motion
In a head-on car crash, the occupants tend to continue in their state of motion and move
forward towards the dashboard. It is usually the seat belts that restrain them.
Not wanting to change direction

As a car goes round a corner, your body wants to continue in a straight line so the car door
If the fan and the sail are on presses against you as it moves sideways. People often say that they get flung against the car
the same cart, what happens? door. It is actually the door that gets flung against them.
Explain why.
Balanced forces, constant velocity
Consider a diagram of the forces acting on a car travelling along a road at constant velocity
P H Y S I C S FA C T (Figure 4.6).
At 5.00 pm Houston time on force of road
17 July 1969, the Apollo 11 on the car force of moving
Figure 4.6
spacecraft was 50 000 km from When this car travels friction
the Moon on its return journey at constant velocity,
to Earth with its engines off. all the forces acting
on it are balanced.
Its speed was 4740 km/h at
4.30 pm and at 6.00 pm its
speed was still the same. With
no net force its velocity
remained constant.
force produced by the
engine
T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G
Why does the agitator in a

weight of
washing machine go back and
the car
forth instead of going steadily
in one direction? Explain in
terms of Newtons first law. The downward force of the car on the road is balanced by the upward force of the road on the
car. The force produced by the engine is balanced by the friction of the tyres on the road and
the air resistance. As long as these forces remain balanced the car will not accelerate.
Figure 4.7
Coins stay still long enough for you
to catch them. A c t i v i t y 4 . 2 I N E RT I A
(a) Two tricks you can do involve Newtons first law.
1 Place a row of coins along your forearm as shown in Figure 4.7 (a).
With practice, as you fling your arm down (Figure 4.7(b)), the coins should stay
motionless long enough for you to catch them in your hand.
2 Make a pile of 20 cent coins on a smooth surface as shown in Figure 4.8.
(b) Flick another 20 cent coin towards the stack and with practice you should be
able to knock the bottom coin out without disturbing the rest.
Describe how Newtons first law applies in these situations.
Figure 4.8
Questions Figure 4.9

For question 3.
3 A thread supports a mass hung from the ceiling. Another identical string is tied
to the bottom of the mass (Figure 4.9). Which thread is likely to break if the
bottom thread is pulled (a) slowly; (b) quickly? Explain your prediction.
4 Explain how Newtons first law applies in the following cases: A
(a) You flick your hands after washing them, before you use a towel.
(b) You spin your wet umbrella to remove excess water before folding it up.
(c) You cant stay upright on a stationary bicycle without putting your feet
down but you have no problem while you ride along. heavy mass
(d) Falling off a building and accelerating is not dangerous but the deceleration
bit at the end is.
(e) Boxers get punch drunk after too many blows to their head. B
force on
lower thread
4.5 MASS
Everyday experience tells us that a given force will produce different accelerations in different
objects. Kick a football and it moves off quickly. Kick a car and it hardly moves. The differ-
ence is their mass. Obviously, the car has a greater mass than the ball. The word mass was
first used in the fourteenth century in this sense. It comes from the Greek maza meaning
barley cake, hence lump or mass. Mass is measured in units of kilograms although grams
and tonnes are widely used.
What is mass?
Since the word mass is used in everyday language we should have some understanding of it.
Is it a bodys size, weight or density? The answer is no, none of these, though these charac-
teristics are sometimes confused with mass. The mass of a body is a characteristic of its
resistance to motion. This is also called its inertia. It was astronomer Johannes Kepler who
first used the term in physics in the seventeenth century. At the time, in Latin it merely
meant lack of art (in = not, ert = art), no skill or idleness. It was Keplers wit that saw
the term added to our language. Newtons first law of motion may also be called the law
of inertia.
Measuring mass
Mass can be defined and measured in two main ways: as inertial mass or as gravitational mass.
Inertial mass is a measure of resistance to motion. If a known force is applied to
different objects, then the resultant acceleration is directly related to mass. A 1 kg object will
accelerate at twice the rate as a 2 kg object. An inertial balance (Figure 4.10) can be used
to measure inertial mass. The object to be measured is placed on the outer section, which is
then given a push and allowed to vibrate back and forth. The greater the mass, the slower the
rate of vibration. Such a balance is used in the space shuttle to measure astronauts mass. The
laboratory version is sometimes called the wig-wag machine.
clamp to
Figure 4.10
bench The wig-wag machine
(inertial balance).
flexible
position metal
of mass bars
motion motion

Gravitational mass is a measure of the pull of gravity on an object. A spring balance is

often used to measure gravitational mass. It works on the principle that the force of gravity
(weight) of an object is proportional to the mass of an object. A beam balance can also be
used to compare weights and hence masses of objects (Figure 4.11).
Figure 4.11
An equal-arm balance. When
the device is in balance, the
masses on the left and the
right pans are equal.
body to be mU mR collection
weighed of reference
masses
weight of WU WR weight of
unknown reference
Isaac Newtons mother said that
he would fit into a quart pot at
birth. If the density of a baby is
Gravitational mass and inertial mass are equivalent. (See Chapter 30.)
1020 kg m3, calculate his mass.
Density
Which is more dense milk or cream? Cream is certainly thicker but it floats on the top of
milk so it is less dense than milk. You cant go around floating objects on top of each other
to compare their densities. This may work for two liquids but what about two solids? A stan-
dard definition is needed.
Figure 4.12
Comparing the masses of 1 cubic centimetre samples
1 cubic centimetre of several
substances illustrates the
expanded
different densities.
polystyrene
oak
cork ice glass lead
wood
0.016 g 0.24 g 0.65 g 0.92 g 2.6 g 11 g
Density is the mass per unit volume

mass or D = m
Density =
volume V
The units for density will be kg/m3 or kg m3. Sometimes the unit g cm3 is used. In this
book we will use both.
Note: the SI symbol for density is the Greek letter rho () and is preferred to D. It is up to
you and your teacher which to use. You may find that in chemistry class the symbol D is used.
Density will be dealt with in more detail in the chapter on fluids and buoyancy.
Ta b l e 4 . 1 S O M E D E N S I T I E S N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
MATERIAL DENSITY (kg m 3 ) DENSITY (g cm 3 ) Isaac Newtons early childhood

was marked by rejection and
Air (at STP) 1.3 0.0013 hatred. His step-father refused
Cork 240 0.24 to allow him into the house.
Petrol 800 0.8 He lived a life of long battles
Ice 920 0.92 with von Liebnitz about who
Water 1 000 1.0 invented calculus. Robert Hooke
Sea water 1 030 1.03 hated him. As Master of the
Milk 1 030 1.03 Royal Mint Newton frequented
Sand 1 600 1.6 brothels and bars trying to
Pyrex 2 230 2.23 catch counterfeiters. From 1678
to 1696 he conducted
Carbon 2 300 2.3
experiments by heating up
Aluminium 2 700 2.7
heavy metals such as lead and
Diamond 3 500 3.5 mercury and breathing in the
Iron 7 900 7.9 vapour (sweet, saltish, vitriolic)
Brass 8 400 8.4 so it was no surprise that he
Copper 8 960 8.96 developed mental illness by
Silver 10 300 10.3 1693. Samples of his hair had
Lead 11 300 11.3 200 parts per million mercury
Gold (9 carat) 11 300 11.3 where 5 ppm is normal and
Mercury 13 600 13.6 40 ppm dangerous. He has been
Pure gold (24 carat) 19 300 19.3 ranked as the second most
influential person in the world
(influential, not important).
Develop an argument for who
Example
might be first and third?
Calculate the density of a cube of copper that has a side of 2.00 cm and a mass of 71.68 g.
Give your answer in (a) g cm3; (b) kg m3.
Solution
(a) Volume = l b h = (2.00 cm)3 = 8.00 cm3.
Density = mass/volume = 71.68/8.00 = 8.96 g cm3. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
(b) Volume = (2.00 102 m)3 = 8.00 106 m3. (a) If you took a beaker of wet
Mass = 71.68 103 kg. sand from the beach, would it
mass 71.68 103 kg weigh more or less than the
Density = = = 8960 kg m3 (or 8.96 103 kg m3).
volume 8.00 106 m3 same volume of dry sand?
(b) Stand on some wet sand
at the beach and it goes dry
Questions around your feet. Why is this?
5 The density of iron is 7.86 g cm3. What is the mass of a cube of iron whose side
is 2.50 cm long?
6 Could you lift a ball of cork of diameter 1.5 m? Cork has a density of 0.24 g cm3
(240 kg m3).
4.6 N E W TO N S S E C O N D L AW
Newtons first law deals with cases where the forces are balanced, so no acceleration occurs.
His second law deals with unbalanced forces and hence acceleration will occur. Here are some
examples:
Dropping a rock over a cliff. There is no upward force to balance the force of gravity
(assuming we neglect air resistance).

A bullet travelling up a rifle barrel. The force due to the pressure of hot expanding
gases is greater than the friction from the walls of the barrel.
Some people say that Newton Driving away from traffic lights. The force produced by the engine is greater than
discovered the laws of the friction of the tyres and air resistance, so a car will accelerate.
motion but others say he The heavier the car the more force is needed to accelerate away from the traffic lights.
invented them.
The faster you want to accelerate, the greater the force needed.
Who is right?
The acceleration occurs in the direction of the unbalanced force.
Newtons second law summarises these facts:
The acceleration of an object varies in direct proportion to the external

unbalanced force applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass.
1 F
Mathematically: a F and a or a = .
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E m m
This can be rearranged to: F = ma.
For m1 and m2 to remain in
the same positions relative to
As stated earlier, the unit of force is the newton (N) so we can define a newton as the force
the cart, what force (F) has needed to give a 1 kg object an acceleration of 1 m s2.
to be applied? Example
An unbalanced force of 48 N west is applied to a 6.0 kg cart. Calculate the carts acceleration.
m1 Solution
F Cart
m2
a = F = 48 N west = 8.0 m s 2 west
m 6.0 kg
A c t i v i t y 4 . 3 T H R OW I N G E G G S
Figure 4.13 Throw some raw eggs full-force at a sheet held as shown in Figure 4.13. Have the bottom
A soft landing for an egg stops the curled up to catch the eggs once they have hit the sheet. Explain the result in terms of
shell cracking.
Newtons second law. If the sheet was wet what do you think would happen? Were not
game to try it.
Making your bike go faster

A practical example of Newtons second law involves bicycle racing. In 1986, aerospace
titaniumaluminiumvanadium alloys were introduced. These have a density of about 60% of
that of steel and so a 300 g steel chain can be replaced by a 130 g one. Hubs can drop by
34 g, and wheels by an amazing 800 g. With over 60 replaceable parts, cyclists can drop
about 3 kg of mass from their bikes, which is about 3.5% of total mass of bike plus rider. Tests
show that paring just 1 kg from a bicycle can save 2.5 s in a 3 km circuit. Thats 16 m at an
average speed of 26 km h1. It also enables them to climb hills at two gears higher than
normal and if you consider that the difference between 1st and 10th place is about 0.5% in
performance, a 3.5% mass loss can be a winner. The savings are not cheap. A Trek 5500
bicycle with carbon fibre frame (7 kg) and TiAlV alloy throughout is about $4000.
Loss of consciousness
It has been known for a long time that rapid acceleration or deceleration can severely affect
the human body. Too high a deceleration can cause loss of consciousness, for example in a
sharp loop-the-loop by a jet fighter pilot and crew. Alternatively, it can result in death.
Smashing into a power pole can kill a car driver and of course that is why cars have crumple
zones to slow the rate of deceleration in an accident.
Questions
7 Calculate the missing quantities in Table 4.2 (do not write in this book).
Ta b l e 4 . 2
F m u v a t N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
(a) 1000 kg rest 25 m s1 8.5 s Quick now, could you lift a ball
(b) 25 N 15 kg rest 2.0 s of cork 1.5 m in diameter? Now
(c) 1000 N 10 m s1 40 m s1 10 m s2 work out its mass.
(d) 200 g 0.85 m s1 0.60 m s1 1.5 min
(e) 150 N rest 2.2 m s2 4s
8 A car of mass 2000 kg decelerates from 30 m s1 to rest in a distance of 100 m.

Calculate the retarding force required to stop the car.
9 Racing driver David Purley (194585) survived a deceleration from 173 km/h to
zero in a distance of 66 cm in a crash at Silverstone, UK in 1977. He suffered
29 fractures, three dislocations, six heart stoppages and made the Guinness
Book of Records. Calculate the net horizontal force acting on him in the crash.
His body mass at the time was 55 kg.
10 Comment critically on the following claims:
(a) It requires a greater force to accelerate a 2000 kg car from rest to 15 m s1
than from 15 m s1 to 30 m s1 in the same time.
(b) Twice the force is needed to accelerate a 1.5 t car from rest to 60 km1 over
100 m than is required over 200 m.
(c) An object always accelerates in the direction of the net force.
(d) A lower net force is needed to accelerate an object from rest to 10 m s1
than is required to accelerate it from rest to 20 m s1 irrespective of the
time taken.
11 In an experiment to find out how the motion of a trolley was related to the force
acting on it, a 1.5 kg trolley was accelerated by various forces. The results are
summarised below:
Force (N) 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.80
Acceleration (m s2) 0.00 0.07 0.13 0.20 0.27 0.53
(a) Plot the data with F on the x-axis.
(b) What relationship is suggested by the data?
12 In an experiment to verify Newtons second law, the equipment shown in Figure
4.14 was set up.
mass m2 Figure 4.14

As masses are transferred from
string pulley the trolley to the carrier, the
tape
force exerted on the trolley is
increased while the mass of
the whole system remains
ticker trolley constant.
timer
slotted
masses
m1

The mass m1 hangs vertically and its weight (the force of gravity) is responsible
for providing the accelerating force that causes the mass m2 to move in a
For most cars, the rear tyres horizontal direction. The weight of m1 is equal to 9.8 N for every 1 kg of hanging
support more weight than the mass. As both masses were connected by a light string, the total mass being
front tyres. For example a Toyota
accelerated by the weight of m1 is equal to the sum of m1 and m2. To keep the
Corolla has 43% of its weight
total mass of the system constant but to vary the accelerating force (the weight
supported by the front tyres and
57% by the rear. When a Corolla of m1), the brass masses were shifted from the trolley to the hanger. This made
brakes, the weight on the front m1 heavier and m2 lighter by the same amount. The acceleration was measured
increases to about 69% and by a ticker timer. The results were as shown in Table 4.3.
reduces to 31% on the rear. Why
is this, and why do cars dip when
the brakes are applied?
Ta b l e 4 . 3
HANGING MASS MASS OF GLIDER AND ACCELERATION
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E m 1 (g) m 2 (g) a (m s 2 )
If a 1 kg mass hanging on a 100 750 1.15
spring balance shows a weight 200 650 2.45
of 10 N, as in diagram (a), will 300 550 3.46
diagram (b) be correct? 400 450 4.52
The second diagram shows a 500 350 5.76
1 kg mass suspended over a 600 250 6.90
pulley by a string tied to the
table. Explain.
(a) For each case, calculate the force applied (FA) by multiplying the hanging
(a) (b)
mass (kg) by 9.8 and expressing the answer in newtons (N).
(b) Plot acceleration vs force and comment on whether Newtons second law is
10 N
confirmed.
20 N (c) How are total mass and the ratio F/a related?
(d) Predict what would happen to the shape of the graph if there was some
friction present.
1 kg 1 kg
(e) How would you modify the experiment to keep the force the same but vary
the total mass?
N E W TO N S T H I R D L AW O F M OT I O N 4.7
Forces come in pairs.
If a hammer exerts a force on a nail, the nail exerts an equal and opposite force on
P H Y S I C S FA C T the hammer.
The main gun on the British If you lean against a wall, the wall pushes back on you.
warship HMS Invincible had a These situations can be summed up by the words you cannot touch without being touched.
bore (internal diameter) of 16 They are examples of Newtons third law of motion, which states:
inches (40 cm) and thats
huge! Its shells could penetrate
24 inches (60 cm) of steel To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
armour on enemy ships. The
recoil of the gun was so great
that it would buckle up the
In other words, if a body A exerts a force on another body B, then body B exerts an equal and
wooden deck and peel off
opposite force on body A. This second way of expressing the law seems more wordy but is more
the paint.
precise. There can be problems working out the action and reaction pairs in some situations.
Examples of other actionreaction pairs are given in Table 4.4.
Ta b l e 4 . 4 A C T I O N R E A C T I O N PA I R S N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
ACTION REACTION Brachistochrone

Exhaust gases are pushed out of the rocket The rocket pushed forward by the gas A
A sprinter pushes on the starting blocks The blocks push on the sprinter straight
A vase of flowers presses down on a table The table pushes upward on the vase cycloidal
A tyre pushes on the road The road pushes on the tyre
A softball is hit by a bat The bat slows down as the ball pushes back
An orbiting satellite is attracted to the Earth The Earth is attracted to the satellite
circular
B
Consider a packet of biscuits resting on a table. The two forces can be labelled as FW, the
weight of the biscuits; and FN, the normal reaction force that the table pushes up normal to
In the summer of 1693, John
the surface. Normal means at right angles (Figure 4.15). Bernoulli posed the following
problem, which still hadnt been
normal force FN solved 6 months later. The day
Newton heard it he solved it.
The problem: you have three
body paths for a ball to roll down
(see figure) which is the
fastest?
weight FW The device is called a
Brachistochrone (Greek brachy
Figure 4.15
= short, chronos = time).
Newton didnt give his name
In this case they are equal and opposite because no acceleration is occurring. If the mass of but Bernoulli said Tanquam ex
the biscuits was 125 g (0.125 kg) for instance, then the weight would be 1.25 N down and ungue leonem Latin for as
the normal reaction force would be 1.25 N upward. the lion is known by his claw.
He recognised the genius of
Questions Newton. If you put a ball

anywhere on the cycloid it will
13 What are the reactions to the following actions: (a) a tennis ball is hit by a take the same time to reach B.
racquet; (b) a horse walks along a road; (c) a horse drags a log along a dirt Strange Why? The cycloid is
track; (d) a click beetle jumps into the air; (e) a man falls out of a tree? called a tautochrone
(Gk tauto = same).
14 A vase of mass 2.5 kg rests on a table.
(a) What is the normal reaction force exerted by the table on the vase?
(b) What if a very large mass such as 500 kg is placed on the table? Explain.
4.8 F O R C E , W E I G H T A N D G R AV I T Y
Objects held above the Earths surface are attracted towards the Earths centre by a pulling
force called the force of gravity. This pulling force causes freely falling objects to accelerate
downward. Gravitational attraction occurs between all bodies but a general discussion is left N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
until a later chapter.
In astronaut Neil Armstrongs
If you drop a rock, it would accelerate downward at 9.8 m s2 provided that no other biography, it says that
external forces interfere with its motion. This is called its free-fall acceleration. The force on Phobos one of the two
due to gravity is given by F = ma. For a 1 kg rock the force of gravity equals 1 kg 9.8 m s2 potato-shaped moons of Mars
or 9.8 kg m s2 directed downward. This is 9.8 newtons. To hold the rock steady in your hand he would weigh only 3 ounces.
requires an equal and opposite force. This is a measure of the weight of the rock. It has the If g on Phobos is one-thou-
symbol FW although some teachers and texts prefer to use just W. The SI convention is to sandth that of its value on
use F for force and different subscripts for specific types of force. The word weight has Earth, what would his mass
been around for a long, long time, hence the confusion when a common term is given a be in kg?
specific meaning in physics. It comes from pre-historic German where wegan meant to carry.
Its secondary use meaning heaviness was an Old English adaptation.

The formula relating mass to weight is then:

I N V E S T I G AT I N G
You have been provided with F W = mg (where g = acceleration due to gravity)
a ball, a stopwatch and a
tape measure.
How many different ways can On Earth, g = 9.8 m s2 but does vary from location to location. The value of acceleration due
you think of to measure the to gravity on other planets depends largely on the planets mass and is shown in Table 4.5.
distance from a top floor
verandah to the ground below?
List sources of error and Ta b l e 4 . 5 F R E E - FA L L A C C E L E R AT I O N S
comment on the most accurate
method. BODY ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY (m s 2 )
Jupiter 24.9
I N V E S T I G AT I N G Neptune 11.8
Saturn 10.5
If you weigh yourself on Earth (average) 9.8
bathroom scales the reading is
Earth (poles) 9.83
greater if the scales are on
Earth (equator) 9.78
carpet rather than on a hard
floor. Now why is this? It would
Venus 8.8
make a great investigation in Uranus 7.8
fact it was reported in Mercury 3.7
New Scientist. Mars 3.7
Moon 1.6
Figure 4.16
Light gates can record the time
interval of a falling ball.
top light gate
bottom light gate
Figure 4.17 start stop

The ball falls when the
electromagnet turns off.
This starts the timer.
Several devices are available in the laboratory for measuring acceleration due to gravity.
electromagnet Because you are limited to a vertical distance of about 2 m, the timing of the fall is very short
and cant be done by hand with a stopwatch.
steel ball
Two common methods to measure the time are with:
light gates (Figure 4.16)
a mechanical switch (Figure 4.17).
A light gate consists of a light source and a detector. When an object is dropped through
the top gate, the counter-timer is started and when the object passes through the lower one
the timer stops. Alternatively, a striped piece of plastic can be used as part of a computer
interfacing package.
switch
The other method consists of an electromagnet holding a ball bearing high up. When
start stop the switch is opened the electromagnet turns off and the ball falls. At the same instant, the
Timer opening of the switch starts a timer. When the ball hits the lower plate a switch is closed and
the timer stops.
A c t i v i t y 4 . 4 B O DY M A S S I N D E X N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A man comes up to a bridge
Body mass index (BMI) is a mathematical formula that correlates mass and height to that can just support his
determine how much body fat you have. See Table 4.6 below. BMI is a better predictor weight and 1 of the 4 balls
of health risk than simple body mass measurements. BMI should not be used to assess he is carrying. He decides to
competitive athletes or body builders because of their relatively larger amount of muscle. juggle as he crosses so that
Neither should pregnant or lactating women, children, or frail sedentary elderly people only 1 ball will be in his
use BMI. hands at any one time.
What do you think of his
1 What is your BMI? (BMI = mass/height2, with mass in kilograms and height in solution?
metres.)
2 Is there any evidence that BMI varies during different stages of a womans
menstrual cycle?
3 Are there any other reasons not to use BMI as a health index?
Ta b l e 4 . 6
MASS CATEGORY BODY MASS INDEX
Underweight <18.5
Healthy 18.5 24.9
Overweight 25 29.9
Obese >30
Weight and mass

Weight is different from mass. Mass is a measure of an objects resistance to motion and
doesnt vary no matter where the object might be taken to in the universe. Weight is a
measure of the force of gravity acting on that object and will vary depending which planet it
is on or what gravitational forces it is being subjected to. Refer back to Table 4.5. For a body
of mass m located at a point where the free-fall acceleration is g, then the magnitude of the
weight (force) vector is given by FW = mg.
You could measure the weight of a body by placing it on some bathroom scales or by
hanging it from a spring balance. With bathroom scales, gravity pulls downwards with a force
weve called weight FW (= mg) and the scales push up with a reaction force normal to the
surface (FN). FN could also be called the scale reading.
In this case, as there is no acceleration, the magnitude of the two forces are equal in
magnitude, so FW = FN and the scales read the true weight of the body.
For example, if you have a mass of 60 kg then your weight on Earth is 60 9.8 or 588 N.
It is fairly usual to approximate the free-fall acceleration due to gravity on Earth as 10 m s2
so the relationship is simplified to: weight (N) = mass (kg) 10 m s2. Your teacher will tell
you if you are to use 10 or 9.8 in problems. Certainly for experiments you would use 9.8 m s2.
The free-fall acceleration on the Moon is 1.6 m s2 so on the Moon FW = m 1.6 N = 96 N.
If you want to lose weight, fly to the Moon.
Example
A man has a mass of 65 kg. Calculate his weight on (a) the Earth; (b) the Moon;
(c) Jupiter.
Solution
(a) FW = mg = 65 10 = 650 N.
(b) FW = mg = 65 1.6 = 104 N (100 N).
(c) FW = mg = 65 24.9 = 1618 N (1600 N).

Figure 4.18
Accelerated frame of reference. Apparent weight
(a)
In the example above, the body was at rest on the surface of Earth or a planet. The resultant
force is zero (FW = FN = 0) and this would hold as long as the body was not accelerating
object
(Figure 4.18(a)). If it was accelerating, the resultant force would not be zero, according to
Newtons second law. This is considered below.
Fw Your weight (mg) can be considered constant at the surface of the Earth. This is some-
times called your true weight but is really just weight. There are slight variations in g due to
the different composition of rocks below but it is on average about 9.8 m s2. Any effects due
to the rotation of the Earth will not be considered until Chapter 6.
Your weight (mg) can appear to change in two main ways:
Fn
by being in an accelerated frame of reference (skydiving, or going up or down in an
balance elevator)
by buoyancy effects (floating in a swimming pool).
FA = F W F N = 0
no acceleration
(b)
Accelerated frame of reference
Going up in an elevator
object If you were standing on some bathroom scales in an elevator and it accelerated upwards,
the reading on the scales would increase (Figure 4.18(b)). The reason: as with a non-
Fw
accelerated (or inertial) frame of reference, such as a stationary elevator or one travelling
at constant velocity as described above, you are acted on by two forces. One is gravity,
which pulls down with a force FW (= mg) called your weight; the other is the normal reaction
force (FN), which pushed the scales upwards onto the soles of your feet. But the body is
accelerated upwards, so FN and FW cannot be equal; in fact, FN must be greater than FW. The
difference in magnitude is the resultant or applied upward force (FA):
Fn
F A = FN F W
FA = FN FW
accelerating up FN = FW + FA
Apparent weight = weight + applied force or
(c) F N = mg + ma = m(g + a)
object
The bathroom scales push upward with a force FN whose magnitude is the reading on the
Fw scales. It is called the apparent weight.
Going down in an elevator
In this case the upward force (FN) is less than the downward force of gravity (FW) (Figure
FN
4.18(c)). The difference is equal to the applied force (FA):
FA = FW FN
FN = FW FA
F A = FW FN Apparent weight = weight applied force
accelerating down
F N = mg ma = m(g a)
(d)
object
Free-fall
Free-fall is another accelerating frame of reference. Here the upward force of the scales is zero
FW so your acceleration is equal to g. If you were standing on some bathroom scales on a trap
door in a floor and the door opened, the scales would not register a reading so your apparent
FN = 0
weight would also be zero as you fell (Figure 4.18(d)).
Free-fall is really quite a different case from the accelerated frames of reference
mentioned in the above cases of the accelerator going up and down. Floating in a pool is an
free-fall
inertial (non-accelerated) frame of reference. There is a buoyant force acting upward that is
equal to your weight so that your resultant downward force is zero. This is a completely
different case from free-fall. Buoyancy acts as someone grabbing you under the arms and lift-
ing you off the scale it has nothing to do with acceleration. The only thing in common is
the term apparent weight, which is zero in both cases.
Example
What is the weight and what is the apparent weight of a 50 kg person in a lift that is
(a) accelerating upwards at 1.5 m s2; (b) accelerating downwards at 1.5 m s2; (c) in free-fall?
Solution
The weight in all cases is equal to mg (that is, FW = mg): 50 10 = 500 N.
Case (a): Apparent weight (FN) = mg + ma = m (g + a) = 50 (10 + 1.5) = 575 N.
Case (b): Apparent weight (FN) = mg ma = m (g a) = 50 (10 1.5) = 425 N.
Case (c): Apparent weight (FN) = mg ma = m (g a) = 50 (10 10) = 0 N.
Note: as bathroom scales are calibrated in kg, the scale reading in Case (a) would be
57.5 kg; in Case (b) 42.5 kg; and in Case (c) 0 kg.
Questions
15 (a) How many times heavier by weight would a person be on Saturn than on
Earth?
(b) Why does Table 4.5 have three values for Earth?
16 In hospitals, newborn babies have their weight recorded in grams but the
nurses usually convert this to pounds and ounces for the parents benefit.
(a) If a physicist had a 7 lb 8 oz baby, what would its weight be?
(1 kg = 2.2 lb; 16 oz = 1 lb.)
(b) If the baby was born in the weightless conditions of outer space, how could
the parents measure the babys Earth weight for the benefit of relatives at home?
17 Calculate the apparent weight of a 70 kg person under each of the following
conditions: (a) Floating in water; (b) Free-falling off the stage at a concert;
(c) Accelerating upward in a lift at 0.5 m s2; (d) Accelerating downward in a
lift at 0.5 m s2.
4.9 TERMINAL VELOCITY

rock starting getting at terminal Figure 4.19
to fall faster velocity Forces acting on a rock falling
freely to the ground.
air
air resistance
resistance 10 N
5N
weight weight weight

10 N 10 N 10 N
Figure 4.20
Forces acting on a parachutist.
If you drop a rock off a cliff, it gets faster and faster as gravity causes it to accelerate towards D
the ground. However, as it speeds up, air resistance also increases so eventually the force friction
upwards due to the air equals the force of gravity (down) and the rock stops accelerating and (drag force)
falls at a constant velocity thereafter. This is called its terminal velocity. Terminal merely
means the end (Latin terminus means limit).
Without air resistance, objects would accelerate at 10 m s2 toward the ground. In
general, the frictional force between an object and the medium through which it is moving
is called the drag force (Figure 4.20).
applied force
(due to gravity) Fw

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Ta b l e 4 . 7 T E R M I N A L V E L O C I T Y O F S O M E O B J E C T S
Imagine you were to drop a OBJECT TERMINAL VELOCITY (m s 1 )
book that has a paper napkin
6 kg steel shot 150
resting on the top (see Figure).
How will they both fall? Wrong! Skydiver (typical) 50
Try it. Why? Cricket ball 40
Tennis ball 30
Rock (1 cm) 25
paper napkin
Basketball 20
Ping-pong ball 10
book
Raindrop (3 mm) 7
Insect 6
Parachutist (typical) 5
The drag force (D) depends on three factors: the cross-sectional area (A), the velocity (v)
and the density () of the fluid in which the object is moving. In air you will free-fall for
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E about 12 s and reach 190 km h1 in about 370 m if you are spreadeagled. If you fall head-first
you will reach about 300 km h1 in that time.
If you dropped a marble, a big
styrofoam ball and a small one
The world record for free-fall is held by Joseph Kittinger from the US Air Force, who
(from a bean bag) together from jumped out of a balloon at 31.3 km altitude. He reached a velocity of 988 km h1 before
chest height, two hit the ground his parachute opened at 5300 m above the ground. His 26 km free-fall lasted 4 minutes
^
at the same time. 37 seconds. That would be some stunt for your school f ete.
Which two and would they be
faster or slower than the other
one? Why? Try it and see!
Surviving free-fall
In April 1987, during a jump, parachutist Greg Robertson noticed that fellow parachutist
Debbie Williams had been knocked unconscious in a collision with a third skydiver
and was unable to open her parachute. Robertson, who was well above Williams at
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E the time and who had not yet opened his parachute for the 13 500 foot (4100 m)
Two skydivers are freefalling and plunge, reoriented his body head-down so as to minimise his area (A) and maximise
before their chutes open they his downward speed. Reaching an estimated speed of 200 miles per hour (90 m s1),
try to throw a tennis ball back he caught up with Williams and then went into a horizontal spread-eagle to increase
and forth. Propose some reasons drag (D) so that he could grab her. He opened her parachute and then, after releasing
why it wont be possible. her, his own, with a scant 10 s before impact. Williams received extensive internal
Once their parachutes opened injuries due to her lack of control on landing but survived.
would it then be possible?
While flying in a British bomber in March 1944, tail-gunner Nick Alkemade bailed out
after being hit by enemy fire. With no parachute he fell 5500 m to the snow-covered
ground in Germany. He was uninjured.
Hostess Vesna Vulovic fell 10 000 m after her DC9 plane blew up over Czechoslovakia
in 1972. She hit the ground and fractured her spine, legs and arms; she was in a
coma for three days and had amnesia for three weeks. She has since completely
recovered.
In June 1985 a teenage boy, while mountain climbing in California, fell 45 m into a
pool of water 1.2 m deep. He walked away (to the applause of his mates, no doubt).
A chimney sweep in 1952 in London fell 45 m into rubble and sustained a deceleration
of 162 gs.
Activity 4.5 DRAG COEFFICIENTS

The drag force (D) depends on three factors: the cross-sectional area (A), the velocity (v)
1
and the density of the fluid (). The formula relating them is: D = 2 CAv2.
The drag coefficient C is the constant of proportionality and has values ranging from
about 0.4 to 1.0.
As an object falls, its acceleration starts at 10 m s2 but gets smaller and smaller until it
is zero at the terminal velocity. At this point the weight of the object equals the drag
force. The object of this activity is to plot the acceleration against velocity for a tennis
hole
ball under free-fall (Figure 4.21).
1 Measure the mass of a tennis ball and its cross-sectional area. Tables of drag
coefficients suggest that a tennis ball has a coefficient of 0.7 and the density
of air () is 1.2 kg m3.
Note: the resultant force = ma = weight drag.
1
FR = ma = FW 2 CAv2
2 Use a computer spreadsheet or manually calculate the acceleration for every

value of v from 0 to its terminal velocity. If you are doing it manually, perhaps
you should increase v in units of 5 m s1.
3 Graph the results.
4 Would it be possible to prepare a table (or spreadsheet) showing a and v as time
If the objective of a parachute
elapsed increases from 0 to 100 seconds? Pretty difficult huh?
is to slow the descent of a
falling object in air, why do
parachutes have a hole (the
A c t i v i t y 4 . 6 C AT S A N D BA D P H Y S I C S apex vent) in the top allowing
air to escape? In the Second
Investigating cats falling out of high-rise buildings may sound interesting, but if World War parachutes did
your results seem odd then maybe your data are incomplete. Heres a review of a not have apex vents and they
non-experimental investigation by two veterinarians, Wayne Whitney and Cheryl swung like pendulums as they
Mehlhaff, in a report for the Journal of the American Veterinary Association. Read it descended (watch an old war
and answer the questions below. movie, youll see).
What is the physics behind this?
Cats falling from more than seven storeys of high-rise buildings in Manhattan sustained
fewer fractures than those that fell from lower levels, according to the researchers.
They speculated that a cat relaxes and spreads its limbs more horizontally, like a flying
squirrel, after it reaches terminal velocity in a fall. They calculated that the average N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
4 kg cat reached terminal velocity of about 100 km/h after falling about five storeys. If an elephant, a man and a
At lower levels, and therefore below terminal velocity, the sense of acceleration may mouse fell from the twentieth
cause them to curl up, making them more prone to injury, Whitney and Mehlhaff storey of a high-rish building,
suggest. the elephant would splatter on
impact and die, the human would
Only one of 22 cats which fell from more than seven storeys died from its injuries, be crushed and die, and the
and there was only one fracture among 13 cats that fell more than nine storeys. In mouse would walk away.
comparison, almost all human falls from over six storeys onto a hard surface are fatal. Why is this?
Once a cat reaches its terminal velocity, it then begins to slow down. This is because the
cat relaxes, changing its position from back arched, head down, and legs pulled tightly
underneath its body, to resemble a spreadeagle cat, which slows it down. The reason for P H Y S I C S FA C T
this is that our bodies are only sensitive to acceleration, and when you feel acceleration It is often said: If a 20 cent
you get scared and curl up in a defensive (foetal) position. coin fell on your head from a
Critics of the study argue that cats do die from great heights and cite the case of Pamela high-rise building, it would go
through your skull and kill you.
Marx from Brooklyn, New York, who wrote, I have had two cats fall from both tenth-floor
But this is rubbish; it would
and fourteenth-floor terraces and both unfortunately died. I never reported these
merely bounce off. Another urban
incidents to any medical centre and believe that other people probably dont report their myth bites the dust.
cats deaths, either. You can add my two cats to your list and report that at least two cats
died in fifteen falls over nine storeys.

Question
In terms of how youd carry out a non-experimental investigation, what deficiencies in
the data collection and analyses were there? How would you rectify them? Comment
critically on the original study.
A c t i v i t y 4 . 7 R A I N D R O P S K E E P FA L L I N G
The following information enables you to calculate the terminal speeds of raindrops of
varying sizes. Raindrops vary in diameter from a maximum of 6.35 mm to a minimum
of 0.51 mm.
1
The drag force is given in Activity 4.5: D = 2 CAv2, where C = the drag coefficient and
is 1.2 for a sphere; a = density of air = 1.2 kg m3; A = the cross-sectional area of the
falling object = r2; and v = velocity of the falling object. The radius (r) must be in metres.
At terminal velocity, the drag force equals the weight of the raindrop, and the weight is
given by FW = mg. In this equation, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m s2) and m
is the mass of the raindrop in kilograms. This can be calculated by letting mass = volume
4
x density (m = 3 r3 W) where the density of water is 1000 kg m3. Hence:
D = FW
1 4
2 CAv2 = 3 r3 Wg
1 Rearrange and simplify this equation to calculate the terminal velocity of a

raindrop 5 mm in diameter.
2 How long would it take all possible raindrops to fall from a cloud 2 km above
the ground?
3 Draw a graph of raindrop diameter (x-axis) against terminal velocity.
Figure 4.21
A c t i v i t y 4 . 8 B OAT S A F L OAT
10
The hull speed of a boat is the maximum speed it can reach before drag increases
Acceleration due to
dramatically. For a ship 30 m long it is 25 km h1; for a 3 m boat it is 9 km h1; and for
gravity (m s2)
a 30 cm hull (e.g. a duck) it is 2.4 km h1. However, if hull size is too small, surface
(terminal velocity) tension becomes a significant factor. For example, a whirligig beetle has a hull size of
constant 1 cm; its hull speed should be 12 cm s1 (based on extrapolation from the above data)
speed but is actually 25 cm s1 because of surface tension. For a 0.5 cm hull the speed is
0 30 cm s1 instead of 9 cm1. But if the hull is too small, the surface tension is too great
Time elapsed (s) and the animal cant move. Plot the data and calculate the hull speed of some common
animals such as a mouse and a rat. Comment on the accuracy of your analysis.
Figure 4.22
FN
INCLINED PLANES 4.10

An object placed on a smooth inclined plane will accelerate down it. The accelerating

sin Fw cos force is provided by the component of the objects weight in a direction down the plane
= Fw
Fp
Fw (Figure 4.22).
In the diagram, the weight of the object (FW = mg) has been resolved into two
components at right angles one perpendicular to the plane (F = FW cos ) and the other
parallel to the plane (FP (or F||) = FW sin ). This can be summarised as:
Parallel component: FP (or F||) = FW sin = mg sin

Perpendicular component F = FW cos = mg cos
Normal force: FN = FW cos
The normal force is equal and opposite to the force perpendicular to the plane because there
is no acceleration in that direction.
Using Newtons second law, the resultant force equals ma.
Hence: ma = mg sin , so a = g sin .
Note: the mass term cancels out, so we can say the acceleration is independent of the mass
of the object in this very specific case. Notice also that this component of gravitational Photo 4.3
acceleration is down the plane. See Photo 4.3 of an inclined plane apparatus. Demonstration inclined plane used
in physics classes.
Limiting cases
From your knowledge of trigonometry you should see that:
as approaches 0, FP approaches zero and F approaches FW
as approaches 90, FP approaches FW and F approaches zero.
Example 1
A 15 kg wedding cake is allowed to slide freely down a smooth 30 incline. Find (a) the resul-
tant force down the incline; (b) the acceleration of the object.
Solution
(a) FP = ma = mg sin = 15 10 sin 30 = 75 N.
(b) a = g sin = 10 sin 30 = 5 m s2.
Example 2 Figure 4.23
An 8 kg carton of soft drink is being pulled up a frictionless 30 incline using a rope and an
FA = 45 N (= T)
applied force (FA) of 45 N (Figure 4.23). This applied force through the rope is often called
the rope tension and can be given the alternative symbol T.
Calculate the acceleration, if any, up the incline.
30
Solution
F P (down) = mg sin = 8 10 sin 30 = 40 N

T (up) = 45 N
FR = 45 40 = 5 N up the incline (resultant force or net force)
F = ma a = F/m = 5/8 = 0.6 m s 2
Note: in the above case an applied force (tension) in the rope of exactly 40 N would not
cause acceleration. The carton would travel at constant velocity or remain at rest. Students Figure 4.24
often forget that in cases where there is no net force there is no acceleration but that an
object can keep travelling at constant speed. In the above case you would need more than FN
40 N in the rope to start the carton moving up the incline from rest; but once it was moving, T
a force of 40 N would keep it at constant speed. Less than 40 N in the rope would cause it to
T
slow down, stop and start to move down the incline. In all of these cases friction has been m1=20 kg
neglected. This, of course, is unrealistic and will be dealt with in Section 4.12. 25 m2
sin 50 kg
Fw
Example 3 25 Fw Fw cos
A 20 kg object is attached by a thin cord to a 50 kg mass that hangs over a frictionless F2 = 500 N
pulley at the top of a 25 incline (Figure 4.24). Calculate (a) the acceleration, if any, of the
object; (b) the tension in the string.

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Solution
(a) Let m 1 be the 20 kg mass on the incline; m 2 is the 50 kg hanging mass.
F (down the incline) = F P = m 1g sin = 20 10 sin 25 = 85 N
F (up the incline) = F A = m 2g = 50 10 = 500 N
F1
F R = F A F P = 500 85 = 415 N up the incline
FR 415
F R = ma a = = = 5.9 m s 2 up the incline
m (total) 20 + 50
1 kg
(b) T = F W sin + ma
= mg sin + ma
= 20 10 sin 25 + 20 5.9
= 203 N
Note: some teachers prefer to use an alternative solution, which uses the tension in the rope
(T) and produces simultaneous equations in terms of T for each object (m1 and m2) separately:
For object m1:
F2
1 kg
m 1a = T F W1 sin = T m 1g sin
(a) Which box requires the a = T m 1g sin
smaller force to lift it? m1
(b) Which box requires less
work to raise it 1 metre?
For object m2:
m 2a = F W2 T
a = m 2g T
m2
Solving simultaneous equations gives T = 203 N as before.

Be guided by your teacher and/or what you may learn in maths. Both methods as you can
see produce the same answer.
PULLEYS 4.11
Other questions of great interest to physicists and engineers are those about pulleys. Pulleys
Figure 4.25 are essential components of many of the machines used in industry and in the home. They
reduce friction between two surfaces by converting sliding friction into rolling friction. The
word pulley came to the English language in the fourteenth century from medieval Greek
polos meant pivot. An understanding of the forces involved enables design engineers to
specify sizes and strengths of materials with the knowledge that any loads imposed will be
within safe working limits. Typical application examples follow.
T Example
T An object of mass 50 kg and another of mass 100 kg are tied to the ends of a light inexten-
50 kg m1 sible (non-stretching) string. The string passes over a smooth pulley (see Figure 4.25).
Determine (a) acceleration of the system (magnitude only); (b) the tension in the string.
F1 = m1g m2 100 kg Solution
Again this problem can be solved in two ways: 1. by developing equations involving the
tension in the string on each mass separately and equating the tension (T) in each equation;
F2 = m2g
2. alternatively, the forces can be considered as a whole. Either method is suitable.
The diagram can be rearranged into a linear form (Figure 4.26).
T T Figure 4.26
F1 m1 m2 F2
F R = F 1 + F 2 = m 1g + m 2g = 50 10 100 10 = 500 N to the right
FR = (m 1 + m 2)a A monkey has the same mass as
500 = 150a a box. He climbs a rope.
a = 3.3 m s 1 (the 100 kg mass moves down) Who will reach the pulley first?
The tension in the string can be calculated by considering just one side: on the left the
tension in the string has to equal the weight of the 50 kg object (pulling down) plus the
accelerating force on the 50 kg force upward:
T = m 1g + m 1a = 50 10 + 50 3.3 = 665 N upward on the left
Note: the tension in the string on the right has to equal the same value (665 N). You can
prove this by showing that the tension has to equal the weight of the 100 kg object (pulling
down) less the accelerating force (because it is acting in the same direction as the weight):
T = m 2g m 2a = 100 10 100 3.3 = 665 N upward on the right
box 20 kg monkey 20 kg
There are several ways of approaching these pulley problems. You may find the
following method more useful:
m 1a = T m 1g
m 2a = m 2g T
T m 1g = a = m 2g T Figure 4.28
m1 m2 For question 20.
T = 665 N (a)
Questions T T
18 A 30 kg box of vegetables moves down a 35 frictionless incline. Find (a) the a
normal reaction; (b) the resultant force down the incline; (c) the acceleration
8 kg
down the incline.
15 kg
19 Two blocks of masses 2 kg (A) and 3 kg (B) respectively rest on a smooth
horizontal surface and are connected by a taut string of negligible mass. A force
of 10 N is applied to the 3 kg mass as shown in Figure 4.27. Calculate (a) the (b) 0.8 kg
T
tension in the string between them; (b) the acceleration of the system.
A B 10 N
Figure 4.27
T For question 19.
frictionless
2 kg 3 kg T surface
1.0
kg
a
20 For each situation shown in Figure 4.28, find (a) the acceleration and (b) the
mg
tension in the string.

FRICTION 4.12
In Grade 10 you were probably asked to write about what life would be like without friction.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E It should have been apparent that it would be a nightmare in fact, impossible.
Motorcycle tyres are of two main You couldnt swallow, walk, hold a pen or do your homework.
types sport and touring. Your clothes would unravel and your shoe laces would come undone.
Sport tyres are v-shaped (A), Nails and screws would be useless your house would fall down.
touring are rounded (B). The Mountains would crumble but TV cameras couldnt record it.
figure below shows the profiles Childbirth would be by caesarean because uterine pushing would be useless and forceps
of Dunlops mega-successful wouldnt grip.
D207GP race tyre, which has Life would last about one day before everyone died. The farewell party would be a
been cleaning-up in supersport disaster because you couldnt hold on to your cup, you couldnt swallow and you
competitions for some time now. couldnt stand up. Ever been to a party like that?
On the right (B) is the road
Friction of course is absolutely necessary but it is also a hindrance. The search for ways of
version of the tyre (the D207).
altering it has gone on for thousands of years. The search to understand it has only gone on
The unusual tread pattern is
called a cosecant groove. In
for a few hundred years only since the birth of physics.
maths you may have learnt
about the cosecant or cosec
trigonometric function, which
What causes friction?
equals 1/sin. Dunlop scientists Friction is a force acting between the surface atoms of one body and those of another. If two
found that the wear on a tyre is highly polished and carefully cleaned metal surfaces are brought together in a very good
proportional to the cosec of the vacuum, they cannot be made to slide over one another. Instead they cold-weld together
lean angle (the angle of the instantly, forming a single piece of metal. Under ordinary circumstances, however, such close
bike to the road). Dunlop atom-to-atom contact is not possible. Even a highly polished metal surface is far from being
engineers incorporated cosecant
flat on the atomic scale. Moreover, the surfaces of everyday objects have layers of oxides and
grooves to minimise the tyre
other contaminants that reduce this cold-welding effect.
wear problems (see figure).
(a) Plot a graph of the lean
When two surfaces are placed together, only the high points touch each other. Its like a
angle (from 5 to 50 in 5 mountain range turned upside down on top of another. The actual area in contact may be only
increments) against the cosec one-thousandth of the total surface area. Many points cold-weld together. When the surfaces
of the lean angle. Note: when are pulled across each other, there is a continuous breaking and remaking of the welds.
= 30, cosec 30 = 1/sin 30 Strangely enough, it is not always the softer material that gets worn away by friction. In
= 2. A computer spreadsheet machinery driven by rubber belts, it is often the metal pulley that wears away before the soft
may speed things up. rubber belt. Grit becomes impregnated in the soft rubber and grinds away at the metal of the
How does the curve compare pulley. Pulleys are often replaced before the belts.
with the groove shape in the
D207GP tyre?
(b) As riders using the v-shaped Activity 4.9 FRICTION IS A DRAG
tyre go into a corner they flip
the bike on to its side rather 1 Take a block of wood, note its mass, connect a spring balance to it and place it
than doing a uniform lean. on the table. Gently pull on the balance horizontally and note the maximum
Why is this? The upper limit of force on the scale before it starts to move (Figure 4.29). This is called the
contact between the tyre and the limiting friction, starting friction or static friction.
road is called the hero line. What
do you suspect this means?
(c) Cruising bikes like the
Figure 4.29
wooden
Harley Davidson have tyres
block
with a flat profile. Ff
F
This must impair their cornering at
speed so why do they have it? table
A B
2 Continue to pull it at constant speed across the bench and note the reading.
This is called the sliding friction. Double check your results.
3 Add a known mass to the top of the block and repeat.
C
4 Repeat with additional masses, noting the spring balance reading each time.
Hero mark
5 Convert the spring balance reading to an equivalent sliding frictional force (Ff)
in newtons.
A piece of pine dowel is placed
6 Calculate the normal reaction (FN) in newtons of the block in each case.
in an electric drill and rotated
7 Plot Ff (y-axis) against FN (x-axis) and comment on the relationship. against a piece of hardwood.
Which will catch on fire first?
8 Which is greater, sliding friction or limiting friction?
Try it.
9 Leave a block on the bench overnight and measure limiting friction the next
day. Has it changed? Why?
In the above activity you should have established that Ff was directly proportional to FN, N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
that is, Ff FN. A constant of proportionality () can be included in the relationship and the
formula becomes: A block of wood is placed on
top of a smooth cylinder
(see figure).
F f = F N or = F f
FN
slides
The symbol is called the coefficient of sliding friction and is usually less than 1.0 but
can range as high as 7 or 8. It is a ratio it has no units.
45
frictional force
Coefficient of friction =
normal contact force
rotates
Ta b l e 4 . 8 C O E F F I C I E N T S O F F R I C T I O N
SURFACES IN CONTACT STARTING FRICTION SLIDING FRICTION

Steel on ice (ice skates) 0.02 0.01
Teflon on teflon 0.04 0.04 When the block gets to
Waxed skis on wet snow 0.14 0.10 45 it slides off.
Wood on Laminex 0.40 0.30 If a ball was used instead of
Glass on glass 0.94 0.40 the block and allowed to roll
Steel on steel 0.78 0.42 down the surface, would it fall
off at a bigger or smaller
Wood on wood 0.62 0.48
angle than 45?
Rubber tyre on wet road 0.70 0.50
Rubber tyre on dry road 0.90 0.70
Steel on lead 0.95 0.95
Foam rubber on foam rubber 8.0 7.0
A cubical block of mass 10 kg
Rolling friction is placed on a surface where
=1.0.
If youve ever tried to slide down a grassy slope on a piece of cardboard you know that youd Where would you need to push
go faster on a go-kart with wheels. Wheels and bearings replace sliding friction with rolling on the block so that it was on
friction and this is much lower. Imagine a car parked on a slope. The friction between the the verge of tipping and sliding?
brake pads and the wheels prevents the car rolling. Without rolling being available, the tyres
would have to slide, and sliding friction between the road and the tyres is great enough to tips
keep the car from moving downhill. push
= 1.0
Properties of friction
Starting friction is always more than sliding friction.
Rolling friction is always less than sliding friction. weight
100 N
Friction is always in the direction opposing motion.
Sliding friction is practically independent of surface area.
Ff = FN

Photo 4.4
Friction modifier for a car. Reducing friction
About 40% of the fuel used in a car is to overcome friction. This friction may be between the
body and the air or between the mechanical components (pistons and cylinders, bearings or
gears). Obviously, motor engineers have attempted to reduce those types that are a hindrance
by either streamlining the body design or by use of lubricants between moving mechanical
parts. Lubricants such as the one pictured in the photo may contain teflon (polytetra-
fluoroethylene PTFE), which is added to the engine oil lubricant. Another friction modifier
is the oil additive molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). If the oil level in a car gets too low, friction
increases, which produces more heat and can damage the engine.
Friction modifiers are not new. The Egyptians built enormous pyramids 4500 years
Figure 4.30 ago using huge stone blocks that were difficult to move by sliding. To move them they used
Bearings.
log rollers underneath and took advantage of the fact that rolling friction is lower than sliding
friction.
Friction can also be reduced by choosing suitable materials for the contact surfaces; for
example, a steel shaft should rotate in a bronze or white-metal bearing. In hi-fi equipment,
bearings usually have a nylon bush a low friction insert inside the bearing. Sometimes
bearings are impregnated with graphite granules. Another common bearing is the ball or roller
ball bearing roller bearing
bearing. They can reduce friction by up to 100 times as they convert sliding friction to rolling
friction (Figure 4.30). Strangely enough, under load, they work even better.
Figure 4.31 Human joints are lubricated by synovial fluid (Figure 4.31) between layers of cartilage
A typical joint in the human body. lining the joint. When you move the efficiency of this lubricant increases. What a piece of
work is man (and woman).
bone Not all lubricants are liquids. For example, hovercrafts float on a cushion of air. A linear
cartilage air track in a physics laboratory works in the same way. Air can be an excellent lubricant.
synovial Activity 4.10 VEHICLE FRICTION

fluid
(lubricant) To carry out this activity you need the help of a licensed driver.
ligament Part A: Rolling friction
1 The coefficient of rolling friction of a car can be found by pushing a car along a
bone flat, horizontal surface. Have a person sit in the drivers seat ready to apply the
brakes. The car should be put in neutral gear and the engine turned off.
2 Put a set of bathroom scales on the bumper bar and note the reading (in kg)
needed to keep the car rolling at a slow constant speed. It will probably be
between 10 and 20 kg.
3 Stop the car and push from the opposite direction. Average the results and
convert to newtons.
Photo 4.5
Disc rotor from a car. When you put 4 Look in the owners manual to find out the mass of the car.
your foot on the brakes, pads are
pressed against this rotor to slow
5 Use the friction formula to calculate the coefficient of rolling friction.
the car down. The grooves in this 6 What is the source of this rolling resistance?
one show that the pads wore down
to bare metal dangerous but can Part B: Engine friction
be machined flat again.
1 Repeat the above experiment, still with the engine off, but put the car in top
gear and let the clutch out. The bathroom scale reading will then be the sum
of engine friction and rolling friction. You should get values around 50 kg a
typical value for a 1989 Honda Civic.
2 Subtract this value from the rolling friction (Part A) to get engine drag. Convert
to newtons.
3 Comment on the source of engine drag.
Part C: Air drag Photo 4.6

Clutch assembly out of a manual car.
This part requires two people inside the car a licensed person to give full attention to The clutch plate (on the left) provides a
driving and the other to time and record results. smooth coupling between the flywheel
(not shown) and the pressure plate
1 Find a straight, smooth, level road with little traffic at the time. Be careful not (on the right). When the clutch fingers
to interfere with other vehicles and dont do it at night. in the centre of the assembly are
pressed in, the pressure plate moves
2 Drive at a steady 40 km/h in top gear, push the clutch in and measure the time away so the gears can be changed.
it takes to slow down to 30 km/h. This is called the coast-down time. We found
times of 24 s were average.
3 Use a formula to calculate the deceleration.
4 Use Newtons second law to compute the total frictional force.
5 Subtract rolling resistance and engine resistance to give air drag.
Summary: Total friction = rolling resistance + engine drag + air drag.
Express the three types of friction as a percentage of the total friction.
Comment on your results and comment further on how the activity could be improved or
extended. In an extreme skiing competition
in Alaska in 1995, a New Zealand
woman tumbled 400 m down a
Increasing friction 50 slope and ended up with
severe head trauma. (The slope
Although friction can be a nuisance (as seen in the previous activity), it is also necessary and
used in the Olympics is 35.)
may even need to be increased. Car tyre tread patterns are designed to increase rather than
How fast would she be going if
decrease friction although other factors come into the design as well. Factors such as rate of the coefficient of friction was
wear, flexibility, strength, dispersion of road moisture and cost are just as important. The (a) zero, (b) 0.10?
same considerations go into the design of running shoe soles. Some questions at the end of
this chapter deal with design of consumer products.
4.13 EXAMINING FRICTION

There are three main situations that you should be familiar with when examining friction
between surfaces. They can be best thought of as: horizontal applied force; angled applied
force and inclined plane. Important: the term at constant speed means that the applied force
in the direction of motion is equal to the friction. If it is greater than friction the object will
accelerate. It can never be less than friction!
Horizontal applied force

This is the simplest case. The applied force and friction are in a line and oppose each other.
Example 1
What horizontal force has to be applied to a 50 kg sled on an ice surface ( = 0.3) as shown
in Figure 4.32 to make it move at constant speed?
Figure 4.32
Solution
FW = mg = 50 10 = 500 N down
FN = 500 N up
Ff = F N = 0.3 500 = 150 N
FA = 150 N to right (constant speed)
ice

Example 2
A spring balance reads 300 g as it is used horizontally to drag a 750 g block of wood along a
Many people claim to have laboratory bench. Calculate the coefficient of friction.
made perpetual motion
machines. Find a description of Solution
one and say why it couldnt
work. Would the one shown
F N = 0.75 10 = 7.5 N up
here work?
magnet
F A = F f = 0.3 10 = 3 N
top hole = F f = 3 = 0.4
pulled up F N 7.5
by magnet
bottom
hole
Questions
21 A butcher pulls on a freshly cleaned 40 kg side of beef with a horizontal force
of 220 N and it slides across the boning table at constant speed. Calculate the
coefficient of friction.
gravity 22 A horizontal steel cable is used to drag a bucket filled with coal along the
pulls
down ground at constant speed. If the mass of the bucket and coal is 6.1 t and the
coefficient of friction is 0.58, calculate the tension in the cable.
Angled applied force

The complication with this case is that the applied force has to be resolved into two
components at right angles. The vertical component will change the normal reaction
whereas the horizontal component will be responsible for motion along the surface.
Angled forces can be of two types: pushing or pulling.
Example 1: Pushing
A child is pushing a 25 kg box of toys along a carpeted floor at constant speed.
Figure 4.33 FA sin
FA (applied force)
motion 30 FA cos
Ff
Fw = mg
If the childs arms make an angle of 30 to the horizontal and she pushes with a force of
100 N, calculate (a) the vertical component of the applied force; (b) the horizontal com
A wooden block is put on an ponent of the applied force; (c) the normal reaction; (d) the force of friction; (e) the
electronic balance, which then coefficient of friction.
reads 100 g (weight = 1 N).
A string is attached to the Solution
block and a spring balance (a) Vertical component = FA sin = 100 sin 30 = 50 N.
is attached to the string. (b) Horizontal component = FA cos = 100 cos 30 = 87 N.
A force of 0.4 N is applied at (c) Normal reaction = weight + vertical component pushing down= mg + FA sin
an angle of 45. = 250 + 50 = 300 N.
What will the balance read? (d) Friction = horizontal component (because of constant speed) = 87 N.
Try it to check. F 87 N
(e) = f = = 0.3.
FN 300 N
Note: if the applied force is a pulling force at an angle then the normal reaction is the weight
minus the vertical component. See the example that follows.
Example 2: Pulling
A boy drags a 15 kg box across a concrete floor at constant speed by means of a cord at an
angle of 20 to the floor. If the force applied is 100 N, calculate the coefficient of friction.
Solution
Vertical component = 100 sin 20 = 34 N.
Normal reaction = weight vertical component = 15 10 34 = 116 N.
Horizontal component = 100 cos 20 = 94 N. Heres another Fermi question:
Friction (Ff) = 94 N. What force is required to break
a blade of grass by pulling at
each end?
= F f = 94 N = 0.8
F N 116 N
Example 3: Pulling N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
What force is needed to be applied to the handle of a 10 kg sled to drag it at constant speed
across a horizontal sandy beach? The handle of the sled is at an angle of 30 to the horizon- A 10 kg block and a 5 kg block
sit side-by-side on a benchtop,
tal and the coefficient of friction is 0.5.
just touching each other.
Solution Which is the easier way to push
them along: using a 100 N force
at 30 to the top edge of the
Ff = FN 10 kg block or to the top edge
F A cos = F N of the 5 kg block? Assume the
= (F W F A sin ) coefficient of friction is 0.5 for
F A cos 30 = 0.5 (10 10 F A sin 30) these surfaces.
0.87 F A = 50 0.5 F A 0.5
0.87 F A = 50 0.25 F A
1.12 F A = 50
F A = 45 N
Questions
23 A worker drags an 80 kg crate across a factory floor at constant speed by pulling
on a rope tied to the crate. The worker exerts a force of 350 N on the rope,
which is inclined at 38 to the horizontal. Calculate (a) the frictional force;
(b) the normal reaction; (c) .
24 A lawn roller of mass 200 kg is being pushed at a constant speed by the handle,
which is inclined at 40 to the horizontal. If the coefficient of friction is 0.12,
calculate the force being applied to the handle by the pusher.
Inclined planes
Again, with this sort of problem the normal reaction is not equal to the weight but the
component of the weight at right angles to the incline (= FW cos ). If the object slides down
the plane then the friction acts up the plane, but if the object is dragged up the plane, then
the friction acts down the plane. There are two situations: sliding down and sliding up.
motion Figure 4.34

friction FA
motion
friction

sliding down incline pulled up incline

Example 1: Sliding down

A 14 kg toolbox is placed on a plank of wood. When one end of the plank is raised, the tool-
box begins to slide down the incline at a uniform speed when the angle reaches 40.
Calculate the coefficient of friction.
Solution (See Figure 4.35)
Figure 4.35
F f = F W sin
FN
F N = F W cos
Ff = Ff = FW sin = 14 10 sin 40 = 90 = 0.84
FN FW cos 14 10 cos 40 107
FW sin
40
40 sin
Note: the previous equation can be simplified. The ratio cos = tan , so the coefficient of
FW cos
FW friction is merely the tan of the angle at which an object slides at constant speed down an
incline (tan 40 = 0.84). This is a simple method for finding in the classroom. Note also
that the value is independent of mass. The mass term cancels out.
Example 2: Sliding up
A bricklayers apprentice is dragging a tray of bricks up a 50 inclined plank by pulling on a
rope attached to the tray. The rope is parallel to the plank. If the load of bricks has a mass of
40 kg and the coefficient of friction is 0.6, calculate the force in the rope.
Solution
As the bricks are moving up the incline, friction acts down the incline. The applied force FA in
the rope equals the component of the weight down the incline plus the frictional force:
FA = F W sin + F f = F W sin + F N
= 40 10 sin 50 + 0.6 40 10 cos 50
= 306 + 154
= 460 N
R OA D A C C I D E N T I N V E S T I G AT I O N 4.14
Traffic accident investigation is not just about examining the damage to cars and people; it
also involves applying physics principles to determine how the accident happened. One of the
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E key pieces of evidence comes from the tyre skid marks.
With the automatic gearbox in The speed of a vehicle prior to skidding to a halt can be deduced from the skid mark
drive a Toyota 1200 kg RAV 4 length and the coefficient of friction between the tyre and the road surface.
will remain stationary facing
uphill on a 5 slope. What would
its initial acceleration be on the Horizontal surface
flat (assuming the drivers foot Suppose a vehicle of mass m travels on a level road at a speed u prior to skidding. During the
was not on the accelerator)?
skid, the only horizontal force acting on the car is friction: Ff = FN = mg. As this is the net
We got 0.87 m s2.
force, the deceleration of the car is given by Newtons second law: Fnet = ma and is equal to
Ff. Hence, combining the two equations gives us mg = ma. This cancels down to: a = g.
If we use our kinematic formula v2 = u2 + 2as, and assume the vehicle came to rest
(i.e. v = 0), acceleration a is equal to u2/2s, hence u2/2s = g, or u = 2gs
Note that the deceleration is independent of the mass of the vehicle.
Example
Calculate the initial speed of a 1500 kg car that skidded 40 m to a halt on a level road where
the coefficient of friction was 0.65.
Solution
u = 2gs = 2 0.65 10 40 = 22.8 m s1 (82.1 km h1)
Different surfaces
When a car skids across different surfaces, the starting speed can be calculated using:
u = 21gs1 + 22gs2 + 23gs3 +
where 1 is the coefficient of friction on surface 1, s1 is the length of this surface, and so on.
Example
A car skids with all four wheels locked and leaves skid marks of 19.3 m on dry bitumen,
5.6 m on concrete pavement and 15.4 m on grass. The values are 0.74, 0.82 and 0.46
respectively. Calculate the speed of the car at the start of the skidding.
Solution
u = 21gs1 + 22gs2 + 23gs3 +

u = 2 0.74 10 19.3 + 2 0.82 10 5.6 + 2 0.46 10 15.4
u = 22.8 m s1 (82.0 km h1)
Inclined surfaces
When the skid marks are on a road that has a slope of degrees, the simplest way to
calculate the starting speed is to use an effective value for :
up slope: us = + sin
down slope: ds = - sin
Questions
25 Calculate the skid-to-stop distance of a car travelling on a road at 100 km h1
with a coefficient of friction of 0.68.
26 A car skidded to a stop, producing skid marks of 5.6 m on bitumen ( = 0.61)
and 3.2 m on concrete ( = 0.79). Estimate the speed of the car prior to
skidding.
27 A car skidded to a halt down a road of gradient of 13.8, producing skid marks
of 17.4 m. The coefficient of friction was 0.73. Calculate the speed of the car
prior to skidding.

A c t i v i t y 4 . 1 1 S P E E D A N D S TO P P I N G D I S TA N C E
Does it take twice as long to stop a car if its speed is doubled? Lets find out.
A light gate attached to a computer timer is useful for this experiment. The TI graphing
calculator and a CBL with a light gate work fine. You will need the Data Gate program.
1 Glue a small piece of card 5 cm long to the top of a small toy car.
2 Construct a ramp and place the light gate at the bottom. (See Figure 4.36.)
3 Allow the car to run down the incline, through the light gate where its speed is
measured, and let it run across the floor to a halt.
4 The light gate will measure the time interval for the 5 cm card to pass through.
(Calculate v by dividing 10 cm by the time taken.)
5 Measure the distance the car moves before stopping.
6 Repeat with different height inclines. What did you conclude?
7 Plot speed (x-axis) against stopping distance.
inclined
Figure 4.36 ramp
Using a data-logger to
measure car speeds.
model car
light gate
data logger
Questions
28 In Figure 4.37, the block weighs 50 N and the applied force FA is 20 N. Calculate
the normal force in each case.
Figure 4.37 (a) (b)
(c) (d)
For question 28. FA FA
FA
37 53
30
Figure 4.38 29 When a laboratory inclined plane is raised at one end, a small wooden block of
For question 30. mass 80 g slides down the slope at constant speed when the angle reaches 25.
Calculate the coefficient of sliding friction.
3.7 kg 30 A block of mass m1 = 3.70 kg rests on a 30 incline and is held stationary by a
m1 mass (m2) of 1.3 kg hanging vertically over a frictionless pulley at the top
m2 1.3 kg (Figure 4.38). Calculate the value of .
30.0
Practice questions T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G
When the upward force of air

The relative difficulty of these questions is indicated by the number of stars beside each resistance on a parachutist
question number: * = low; ** = medium; *** = high. equals his weight (down),
shouldnt he be stationary?
Explain.
*31 Calculate the resultant force when the following forces act on the same object:
(a) 24 N north, 18 N south, 19 N north. (b) 6.5 N down, 9.2 N up and 7.4 N up.
(c) 55 N north, 35 N west, 65 N south. (d) 6 N west, 5 N east, 3 N north, 1.5 N south. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
*32 The density of aluminium is 2.7 g cm3. Calculate the mass of a sheet of the In 1999, a 19-year-old Gold
metal 25 cm long by 10.0 cm wide and 3.0 mm thick. Coast man tried to stop a car
*33 Which of Newtons laws of motion best describes the following situations? that was starting to roll down
(a) When a car accelerates the occupants feel pressed back into their seats. a driveway slope. He didnt
succeed and was run over. Why
(b) When you turn on the garden hose it moves around if it is not held.
couldnt he stop the car
(c) A nailfile, when thrown vertically, undergoes uniform deceleration. after all, it was only on a 10
(d) A sandwich, when dropped off a cliff, travels straight down. slope? How much force can you
*34 A handbag is sliding down a 30 incline at constant speed. Which one of the push with? Try this. Have
following relationships is false about the situation? someone hold a set of bath-
(a) FW sin 30 > Ff. (b) FN = mg cos 30. (c) Ff = FN. (d) FW = mg. room scales against the wall at
*35 What force is necessary to uniformly accelerate: about hip height while you
push the scales with your
(a) a 6.4 kg mass at 2.4 m s2 east; (b) a 0.16 kg mass from rest to 2 m s1 in
hands as hard as you can.
3 seconds; (c) an object weighing 25 N at 9.8 m s2; (d) a 0.50 kg object from Youll probably only push to a
rest to 5.0 m s1 over 4.0 metres; (e) a 75 kg object from 40 m s1 to 60 m s1 in scale reading of 40 kg (400 N).
5 milliseconds? Calculate the maximum angle of
*36 A wooden box of bolts has a mass of 250 kg and requires a horizontal force of an incline that you could stop
2100 N to slide it along a horizontal wooden surface at a constant speed. a 1500 kg car from rolling
(a) Calculate the coefficient of friction. down. Surprising, huh?
(b) If the box were to be kept moving constantly at twice this speed what force
would be needed to maintain this constant speed?
Figure 4.39
**37 In a TV tube an electron experiences an unbalanced force of 8.0 femtonewtons For question 38.
over a distance of 20 mm. (Look in the Appendix for the mass of an electron
and the meaning of the prefix femto.) Acceleration (m s2) 5
(a) Calculate the electrons acceleration. 4
(b) Calculate the electrons speed at the end of the 20 mm (starting from rest). 3
**38 The graph shown in Figure 4.39 is an accelerationforce graph for an experiment 2
with a loaded cart pulled by rubber bands: 1
(a) What does the intercept of the graph with the force axis measure?
(b) What acceleration would an applied 2.5 N force produce? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(c) What net force would produce an acceleration of 2.0 m s2 and what applied Applied force (N)
force is this equal to?
**39
(d) What is the mass of the loaded cart?
A bicycle and rider have a combined mass of 65 kg. When travelling at 5.0 m s1 T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G
(Answer true or false)

on a level road, the cyclist ceases to pedal and comes to rest in 255 m. What
Forces are needed for motion
frictional forces must have been acting on the cyclist?
with constant velocity.
*40 Consult a table of densities to find out: Objects stop moving when the
(a) which, if any, metals are lighter than water, and list their densities; force is removed.
(b) whether any liquids are heavier than mercury at room temperature. Inertia is the force that keeps
*41 You are standing on the edge of a frozen pond where friction is negligible. things in motion.
In the centre is a blue circle 1.0 m in diameter. There is a prize of 4.0 L of The normal force on an object
icecream if anyone can apply all three of Newtons laws of motion to get there. always equals the weight.
How could you do it? Objects thrown in the air start
**42 If friction is independent of surface area, why is it that racing car drivers use to fall when they run out of
wide tyres to improve the grip? force.

**43 Is it better to have high friction between a car tyre and the ground to get good
grip or better to have low friction to reduce drag forces? Examine critically.
I live at the top of a road that **44 During an experiment, a linear air track glider was subjected to a single force whose
has a 5 downhill slope. When magnitude could be varied. Assume the friction was negligible. The acceleration
I let my car roll down the slope from various forces was measured and the results tabled as shown below:
it reaches 25 km h1 by the time
it gets to the bottom, 400 m Force (N) 5 10 15 20 25
away. What frictional force Acceleration (m s2) 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5
must be acting?
(a) Draw a graph.
(b) What is the mass of the trolley?
(c) If friction was present how would the shape of the graph have changed?
**45 An experiment was conducted to find the relationship between force, mass and
acceleration. A stretched rubber band was used to provide constant force on a
trolley to which different masses were added (see Figure 4.40). The trolley was
released from rest and timed to move 50.0 cm. A student made the following
notes:
Figure 4.40 masses
For question 45.
stretched rubber band
50 cm
When the trolley had no masses on it, it took 2.00 s. With 300 g added it took
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E 2.39 s and with 900 g added it took 3.02 s. I measured the mass of the trolley by
A lawyer emailed me (RW) itself and it was 700 g.
wanting to know what was (a) Draw up a data table to show the results.
meant when someone was in an (b) Calculate the acceleration for each trial and add this to the table.
accident and suffered high-g
(c) Draw a graph of total mass (x-axis) versus acceleration.
forces. I told him in a few
(d) What relationship is suggested by this graph?
paragraphs. How would you
explain it? By the way, he never (e) Use Newtons second law of motion formula to calculate the force provided
offered to pay, but I bet he by the rubber band in each case and add to the table.
charged his client. Hmmm! (f) The student was supposed to have measured the time with 600 g added
but forgot. (i) What acceleration would the student have calculated?
(ii) How long would the trolley have taken to cover the 50 cm in this case?
(g) Name one factor that would have had to remain constant during the experiment.
**46 Figure 4.41 has been taken from Scientific American, December 1994. It shows
the fuel needs of the various stages of a cars propulsion system. (One US gallon
equals 4.0 L.)
0.22 gallon
Figure 4.41 accessories
Energy losses in a typical combustion
losses
automobile. 0.52 gallon
engine
tyres friction losses
transmission
losses
0.49 gallon
aero-dynamics 1.86
1.48
gallons fuel
gallons
4 energy
gallons needed
0.47 gallon
braking 10 gallons
(a) Make a table to show the percentage of fuel use for each stage.
(b) State which stage the following modifications would affect and say whether
it would increase or decrease fuel consumption: (i) PTFE oil additive;
(ii) proper engine tuning; (iii) low gearbox oil level; (iv) glovebox light
that stayed on all the time; (v) sleeker body shape (of car, not driver);
(vi) out-of-round disk brake rotors; (vii) hood rack and surfboard. Figure 4.42
(c) If two cars were identical except that one had a six cylinder engine and the Brake for wheeled vehicles.
other a four cylinder engine (like the two VB Commodore models of the early
1980s), which stage would be affected (if any)?
**47 A British engineer, Mr Ralph Jackson, was awarded Patent No. 858 in 1901 for
his Brake for Wheeled Vehicles (Figure 4.42).
In his patent application he said that by a system of levers, the wheel may be
raised from contact with the ground. Explain the physical principles of his
device and some good and bad points about it.
***48 Consider the system shown in Figure 4.43. The trolley has a mass of 1000 g and Figure 4.43
For question 48.
is stationary when placed on a slope of 35 under the conditions shown.
(a) Determine the frictional forces acting in this system. (b) Calculate .
***49 A sphere of mass 0.3 g is suspended from a 30.0 cm cord. A steady horizontal
breeze pushes the sphere so that it makes an angle of 37 with the vertical.
Find the magnitude of the wind force and the tension in the cord.
***50 A cable used to pull mine cars vertically to the pit head has a breaking strain m = 800 g
of 3 104 N. If the mine shaft is 500 m deep and a full mine car has a mass 35
of 2.5 t, calculate: (a) the maximum acceleration the car can attain without
breaking the cable; (b) the shortest time in which the car can be pulled from
rest to the surface in the event of an accident.
***51 A toboggan of mass 1000 kg starts to move down a 30 slope at an amusement
park. In addition to the friction between the runners and the track ( = 0.2)
there is air resistance that has been shown to be equal to 500 N + 80 (number
of people in the toboggan) N. Which would get to the bottom of the slope first
a toboggan with one person of mass 60 kg or a toboggan with two passengers,
each of mass 60 kg? Show your working.
***52 If a cars wheels are locked during emergency braking, the car slides along the
road leaving bits of ripped-off tyre and small melted sections of road from the
skid marks that reveal the cold-welding during the slide. The record for the
longest skid marks on a public road was set in 1960 by a Jaguar on the M1 in
England. The marks were 290 m long. Assuming that the coefficient of friction
was 0.60, how fast was the car going when the wheels were locked?
***53 A woman pulls a sled carrying a bath tub along a horizontal surface at constant Figure 4.44
For question 53.
speed (Figure 4.44). If the mass of sled and bathtub was 75 kg and was 0.10
and the angle as shown was 42, calculate the tension in the rope.
***54 A 1500 kg sled is coasting at 20 m s1 on ice where friction is negligible.
Suddenly it hits a 22.0 m long rough patch used for ice cricket, which creates a T
frictional force of 6 103 N. With what velocity does the sled leave the end of
the rough patch?

***55 A falling cat reaches a terminal speed of 60 km h1 while it has its legs and
head tucked in. When it stretches out its cross sectional area (A) doubles.
Calculate its new terminal speed. Refer to Activity 4.5 (page 89) for the
appropriate formula.

***56 An electron is projected horizontally at a speed of 1.2 megametres per second

into an electric field that exerts a vertical force of 450 attonewtons on it.
The mass of an electron is 9.11 1031 kg. Determine the vertical distance the
electron is deflected during the time it has moved 30 mm horizontally.
Atto (a) = 1018.
***57 A crate of tiles of mass m1 = 14 kg moves up a 30 incline at constant speed
when pulled by a crate of cement of equal mass. The crates are connected by a
taut, massless cord over a frictionless, massless pulley. Calculate the frictional
force and the value of .
***58 A van skidded to a halt up a road which had a slope of 7 and ran into the
back of a parked car. The van produced skid marks of 13.7 m on a surface with
a of 0.71. From the damage to the parked car, police estimated that the vans
impact speed was 25 km h1. Estimate the speed prior to skidding.
***59 In an accident, a car skidded 9.6 m over bitumen ( = 0.66) and 2.6 m on
concrete ( = 0.76) before smashing into a fire hydrant. Police estimated the
crash speed to be 30 km h1. Estimate the speed of the car prior to skidding.
***60 A mass m1 hangs over a frictionless pulley and attached to the other end is
another frictionless pulley with masses m2 and m3 arranged as shown in Figure
4.45. Calculate the acceleration of the three masses and the tension in the
strings.
Figure 4.45
***61 A man is hauling a box of mass 100 kg up a 35 incline by a rope attached to the
top of the box (Figure 4.46). If the rope makes an angle of 20 to the incline and
the coefficient of friction between the box and the incline is 0.65, calculate the
force applied by the man to keep the box moving at constant speed.
Figure 4.46
CHAPTER 05
Projectile, Circular and Periodic Motion
5.1 M OT I O N I N T WO D I M E N S I O N S
The previous chapters have considered motion mainly in a straight line. This is called recti-
linear motion (Latin rectus = straight and linea = line). This chapter will be looking at
motion in two dimensions, that is, curvilinear motion.
Projectiles from cannons, a shotput, throwing a cricket ball, motorcyclists jumping rows
of cars; and ballet dancers all involve curvilinear motion.
But there are facts and fallacies about such motion:
Before Galileo, universities taught that when a cannon ball ran out of impetus it
would stop in its path and fall vertically to Earth. Thats not true, is it?
Soldiers in war have often reported that enemy bullets fired from miles away fell
vertically in to their trenches. How can that be true?
In the Olympic Hammer Throw, the hammer continues in a circular path for a fraction
of a second after it is let go. True or false?
Bombs and bullets fired at 45 have the greatest range. Well, cricket balls do; so
should bullets.
A pendulum will swing forever in a vacuum because air resistance is nil. True or
false?
To make sense of these ideas, it helps if you have first-hand knowledge of some curvilinear
motions.
A c t i v i t y 5 . 1 T H I N G S T H AT D O N T G O I N
STRAIGHT LINES
1 Watch a microwave oven in operation.
(a) Does the carousel rotate clockwise or anticlockwise? Does everyone else in
the class get the same result?
(b) Measure the period of the carousel. This is the time for one complete
revolution. Time the carousel for five turns to get better accuracy.
Is 12 seconds about the class average?
2 If you have a CD player and still have the manual, look up the rotation speed of
the disk. Is it constant or is there a range of speeds?
3 Billiard players talk about putting English on the ball. What does that mean?
4 The javelin design was changed in 1998 so that it couldnt be thrown as far.
Consult the Guinness Book of Records to find out how this was achieved and by
approximately how much its range was reduced.

PROJECTILES 5.2
Good examples of projectiles are 1. a rock thrown straight out from the top of a cliff; 2. a
cricket ball thrown across a field. (See Figure 5.1.) The word projectile comes from the Latin
jacere meaning to throw and pro meaning forward. Projectile motion can be separated into
two components a vertical (up and down) motion and a horizontal motion. The vertical
motion is the same as discussed in Chapter 2 the ball is under the influence of gravity
and accelerates at 10 m s2 directed downward (the negative direction). In the horizontal
direction, there are no net forces acting on the object so the velocity is constant. In all cases
we are assuming air resistance is negligible. If you are to ever take air resistance into account
in a problem you will be specifically told to do so. The path of a moving object is called its
trajectory (Latin trajectus = crossing or passage).
Figure 5.1
Horizontal projection Angled projection a

a rock thrown off cricket ball thrown
a cliff across a field
Note: in all examples that follow, the positive direction is upward and the negative direction
is downward. You may choose a different convention in your problem-solving. Its up to you
and your teacher.
Horizontal projection
This is the example of the rock thrown off the cliff. In this case the value of vh equals the
initial horizontal velocity (uh), which remains constant. The vertical velocity starts at zero
(uv = 0) but increases as time passes.
Vh
Figure 5.2
The horizontal velocity remains
constant while the vertical Vh
velocity increases.
Vv
Vh
Vv
Vh
Vv
Example
A golf ball is thrown horizontally off a cliff at a velocity of 20 m s1 and takes 4 s to reach the
ground below. Calculate (a) the height of the cliff; (b) how far the ball will land from
the base of the cliff; (c) the impact velocity of the ball.
P r o j e c t i l e , C i rc u l a r a n d Pe r i o d i c M o t i o n 109
Solution
(a) In the vertical direction:
u v = 0 m s 1, a = 10 m s 2, t = 4 s, s v = ?
1 2
s v = u vt + 2 at
=0+ 1
2 10 4 2
= 80 m
(b) In the horizontal direction:
u h = 20 m s 1, a = 0 m s 2, t = 4 s, s h = ?
1 2
s h = u ht + 2 at
= 20 4 + 0
= 80 m
(c) Impact velocity is the sum of horizontal velocity, which remains constant at
20 m s1, and the final vertical velocity. This is a vector summation.
The vertical velocity on impact, vv = uv + at = 0 + 10 4 = 40 m s1.
Figure 5.3
impact velocity
40 m/s 45 m/s
20 m/s
Using Pythagorass theorem:
v 2 = 40 2 + 20 2 = 1600 + 400
v = 2000 = 45 m s 1
The angle of impact, , can be found from tan = 40 = 2.0.

20
Hence = 63.
Questions
1 A motorcycle is driven off a cliff at a horizontal velocity of 25 m s1 and takes 5 s
to reach the ground below. Calculate (a) the height of the cliff; (b) the distance
out from the base of the cliff that the motorcycle lands; (c) the impact velocity.
2 A rock is thrown horizontally at 8 m s1 off a 100 m high cliff. Calculate (a) how
long it takes to hit the ground; (b) its impact velocity; (c) how far out from the
cliff it lands.

P R O J E C T I O N AT A N A N G L E 5.3
Not all objects are thrown in a horizontal direction. Cannonballs, footballs and netballs, for
example, are often projected upward at an angle.
To study projectile motion, we let be the angle at which the object is thrown relative
to the horizontal. This is called the elevation angle.
Figure 5.4 v sin

initial
velocity v
A flea can jump 18.4 cm high

when jumping at 45. How far v cos
horizontally will it go?
The motion of the projectile is a parabola because the vertical displacement varies as a func-
tion of t2 (i.e. sv = uvt + 21 at2) as it is uniformly accelerated motion whereas the horizontal
displacement varies with just t (i.e. sh = vht) as it is constant velocity. The horizontal
displacement is called the range.
Figure 5.5
The vertical velocity changes
while the horizontal velocity
stays constant.
vv
vh
The impact velocity will have the same magnitude as the launch velocity, but be
directed in a general downward direction not upward as at launch (Figure 5.6).
Figure 5.6
impact
velocity v
v sin
v cos
The horizontal component of velocity remains constant for the duration of the flight. The
vertical component at launch equals the vertical component at impact but in the opposite
direction. Recall from an earlier chapter that for vertical motion, initial speed equals final
speed for an object returning to the same horizontal level.
Some old ideas challenged Figure 5.7

Until the 1600s, people thought
that projectile motion was more
Until the time of Galileo, the motion of a projectile was based on the teachings of Greek like this.
philosopher Aristotle. For example, Albert of Saxony (131690), rector of Paris University,
taught that the trajectory of a projectile was in three parts: firstly, the upward motion where
the initial impetus suppressed gravity; secondly, a period where the projectiles impetus and
gravity were compounded; and thirdly, when gravity and air resistance overcame the natural
impetus. This produced a trajectory as shown in Figure 5.7.
It wasnt until 1638 that the trajectory of a projectile could be described mathematically.
Galileos description proved to be correct and has been the basis of mechanics since. The
mathematical techniques that Galileo pioneered, later refined by Newton, can be seen in the
examples that follow.
Example
The L16 mortar is a weapon currently used by Commonwealth defence forces. If a mortar shell
was fired at 200 m s1 at an angle of 40 to the ground, calculate:
(a) the initial vertical and horizontal components of the velocity; Acapulco cliff divers jump off a
(b) the maximum height reached; cliff 35 m high and just miss rocks
(c) the time of flight (total time taken from start to finish); 5 mm out from the base.
(d) the horizontal range; What is their minimum push-off
(e) the impact velocity. speed?
Solution
Let the upward direction be positive: a = 10 m s2.
(a) Vertical: uv = v sin = 200 sin 40 = +129 m s1 in positive direction (up). N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Horizontal: uh = v cos = 200 cos 40 = 153 m s1.
On the Moon, astronauts hit a
(b) At maximum height vv = 0 m s1.
golf ball 180 m. If they hit the
same ball on Earth with the same
v2 u2 02 (+129)2 speed and angle, how far will
(v v )2 = (u v )2 + 2as v, hence s v = = = +832 m
2a 2 10 it go (neglect air resistance)?
Note gmoon = 1.6 m s2. By the
(c) Time of flight can either be calculated by (i) determining the time taken to way, there are three golf balls still
reach maximum height (v = 0) and doubling it; or (ii) determining time taken on the Moon. Learn this off by
until final vertical velocity is equal and opposite to initial vertical velocity; or heart it could be useful.
(iii) until vertical displacement is zero again.

v u 0 (+129)
By (i) vv = uv + at, hence t = = = 12.9 seconds. Total time = 25.8 s.
a 10
129 (+129)
By (ii) vv = uv + at, hence t = v u = = 25.8 s.
a 10
By (iii) sv = uvt + 1 at2, hence 0 = +129t + 5t2; 5t = 129; hence t = 25.8 s.

2
(d) Horizontal range = horizontal component of initial velocity time of flight.
s h = v h t = 153 25.8 = 3947 m
(e) The impact velocity will have the same magnitude as the initial velocity, but will
be directed generally downward not up. The angle of impact () will be the same
as the angle of elevation (40). Thus, the impact velocity is 200 m s1 at an
angle 40 to the horizontal.

Complementary angles of elevation

The range of a projectile fired at an elevation angle of 40 will also be the same if it is fired
at 50. The angles 40 and 50 are called complementary angles because they add up to
90. Other examples of complementary pairs are: 30 and 60; 20 and 70 etc. In other
words, the range of a projectile will be the same for elevation angles of and 90 . It is
interesting that sin = cos (90 ).
A c t i v i t y 5 . 2 TOY C A N N O N
If you have access to a toy cannon, try firing some projectiles at complementary angles
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E and collect some data. Perhaps you could design a device that uses a rubber band, a
mousetrap or a spring to fire small objects up an incline. Then you could vary the
The following graphs show how
elevation angle. Whatever you do, you should aim to confirm or refute the above
the range and altitude of a
assertion about complementary angles.
projectile changes with
elevation angle in the
Example
presence of air. Plot a graph
In the earlier example, an elevation angle of 40 produced a range of 3947 m. If the theory
of maximum altitude versus
is correct, then an angle of 50 should produce the same range.
elevation angle and predict
(a) Prove this assertion.
maximum altitude for
(b) By how much do the times of flight differ?
an angle of 90.
(c) Do the impact velocities differ? (The initial velocity was 200 m s1.)
Should the graph pass through
the origin (0,0)? Why? Solution
(a) Let a = 10 m s2.
3
Altitude (km)
2 60 u v = v sin = 200 sin 50 = +153 m s 1 (upward)

45 u h = v cos = 200 cos 50 = 129 m s 1
1 30
15 Impact velocity in vertical direction (vv) = uv = 153 m s1.
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 Hence, the range is identical.
Range (km)
v v = u v + at, hence t = (v v u v/a) = (153 +153)/10 = 30.6 s

s h = v h t = 129 30.6 = 3947 m
(b) The times of flight were: for 40, t = 25.8 s; for 50, t = 30.6 s; difference was 4.8 s.
(c) Impact velocities are different but only in direction not magnitude.
For 40, vimpact = 200 m s1 at 40 to horizontal.
For 50, vimpact = 200 m s1 at 50 to horizontal.
Maximum range
Figure 5.8 It was the invention of the cannon in the late 1400s that created a new form of warfare. War
An elevation angle of 45 produces at sea using cannons became more common and defence using medieval castles became
the maximum range in most cases.
obsolete. Medieval mechanics also became obsolete. Until then, the motion of a projectile
was only of philosophical interest because they all thought they knew how projectiles moved
after all, Aristotle described the motion over 1000 years earlier and no one was prepared
to challenge his theories. The theories werent challenged until they had to be tested in war-
fare and were found wanting. Aiming was very much a hit-or-miss affair; there was no way of
determining the trajectory or even the angle of launch in advance. It wasnt until self-taught
engineer Niccolo Fontana published the results of his experiments in 1546 that gunners
realised a 45 angle of elevation would give the maximum range.
In Figure 5.8 the maximum range can be calculated by letting = 45. In this case the
30 40 45 horizontal and vertical components of the initial velocity both equal 141 m s1, the time of
60 50 flight equals 28.2 s and the maximum range works out to be 3976 m.
A c t i v i t y 5 . 3 C O M P U T E R S I M U L AT I O N N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
The world speed record for an
If you have access to a computer and spreadsheet you may like to use this exhaustive
archery shot over 100 m is
method of determining the range at different elevations and the elevation for maximum
1.64 seconds (220 km h1).
range.
Calculate the elevation angle
1 The horizontal range (R) can be found by a single formula deduced in the follow- of the arrow so that it hits the
ing manner: bulls eye at the same height as
(a) Horizontal range sh = u cos t = R; maximum vertical height that from which it was fired
vv = u sin + at/2. (shoulder high).
2u2
(b) Eliminating t between the equations yields: R = sin cos .
a
u2
(c) Knowing the identity sin 2 = 2 sin cos , we obtain R = sin 2.
a
2 Set up a spreadsheet and calculate the range for all values of from 0 to 90
using a nominal velocity of 100 m s1.
3 Is the maximum range achieved at an elevation of 45?
4 Do complementary angles produce the same range? Give an example.
More complex situations Figure 5.9(a)

If the projectile travels to a point lower than its starting point then the situation is more (a)
complex. Imagine throwing a ball up and out off a cliff. Another complex situation arises
when the projectile lands higher up than the starting point, for example throwing a book to 34.5
someone up on a verandah or shooting a basketball into the hoop. cannon
Example: Lower final horizontal displacement

A cannon is fired from the edge of a cliff, which is 60.0 m above the sea (Figure 5.9(a)).
The cannonballs initial velocity is 88.3 m s1 and it is fired at an upward angle of 34.5 to 60 m
the horizontal. Determine: (a) the time the ball is in the air; (b) the impact velocity; (c) the
horizontal distance out from the base of the cliff that the ball strikes the water.
Solution
Vertical component of initial velocity uv = 88.3 sin = +50.0 m s1 (positive is up).
Horizontal component of initial velocity uh = 88.3 cos = 72.8 m s1.
The final vertical displacement sv = 60.0 m N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Initial vertical velocity uv = +50.0 m.
A really hard one! A cannonball
Vertical acceleration a = 10 m s2.
is fired and, after travelling 5 m
horizontally, it has reached half
s = ut + 12 at 2 its maximum height.
1 At what horizontal distance
60 = +50t + 2 (10)t 2
will it land?
5t 2 50t 60 = 0
t 2 10t 12 = 0
hmax
t = (10) (10) 2 4 1 12
21 hmax
2
t = 11.1 s or 1.1 s
0 5 sH (m) ?
The negative solution is not reasonable, therefore the time of flight is 11.1 s.
(b) The horizontal velocity vh remains constant at 72.8 m s1.

Figure 5.9(b) The vertical component of the velocity will change:
v v = u v + at
= +50 + 10 11.1
Impact
velocity = 61 m s 1 (downward)
vv =
61 m/s
The total velocity is the vector sum of the two components (Figure 5.9(b)).
Using Pythagorass theorem:
Impact velocity = 612 + 72.82 = 95 m s1.
61
vh = 72.8 m/s Using trigonometric ratios: = tan1 = 40.
72.8
(c) Horizontal distance (sh) = horizontal component of velocity (vh) time of flight (t).
s h = 72.8 11.1 = 808 m from base of the cliff
u2
Note: you cant use the formula R = sin 2 because the projectile is not landing
a
at a position level with where it was thrown. The range formula is assuming the
vertical displacement is zero.
Questions
3 A tennis ball close to the ground is hit by a racquet with a velocity of 30 m s1
at an angle of 25 to the horizontal. Find (a) the initial vertical and horizontal
components of the velocity; (b) the maximum height reached; (c) the time of
flight; (d) the horizontal range.
4 A football is kicked off the ground at an angle of 30 to the horizontal. It moves
away at 23.0 m s1. Calculate (a) the vertical velocity after 1.0 s; (b) the velocity
of the ball after 1.0 s; (c) the maximum height reached; (d) the time of flight;
(e) the range of the ball.
5 A rock is thrown off a 100.0 m cliff upward at an angle of 20 to the horizontal.
If it has an initial velocity of 15 m s1 and strikes the rocks below, calculate
(a) the time of flight; (b) the impact velocity; (c) how far out from the base
of the cliff the rock strikes the ground.
6 A difficult one! A basketball player shoots a ball at an angle of 55 into a hoop
on a post 4.3 m away (Figure 5.10). If the ball is released from a height of 2.1 m
and lands in the net, which is 10 feet (3.0 m) off the ground, calculate the
initial speed of the ball for this foul shot to be successful.
7 Emmanuel Zacchini was a famous American human cannonball. In 1940 he
attempted to clear a Ferris wheel 18 m high after being launched from a cannon
Figure 5.10
For question 6. at an elevation angle of 53 and a muzzle velocity of 26.5 m s1.
(a) If his point of projection from the cannon was 3.0 m above the ground, did
he clear the Ferris wheel?
(b) How far away from the cannon should the net have been placed?
55 The effect of air on projectiles

3.0 m Aristotle argued that once a projectile ran out of impetus it would fall vertically from the sky.
2.1 m Galileo argued that this was wrong the trajectory would be parabolic. Galileo was right
or was he? In the discussion so far we have ignored air resistance but when it is taken into
account the trajectory is different. Aristotle is almost right but for the wrong reasons. At
low speeds air resistance is negligible. But at greater speeds it becomes considerable.
4.3 m For instance, a flyball hit at an angle of elevation of 60 at 45 m s1 will have different
trajectories in air compared with those in a vacuum. Table 5.1 summarises the differences.
Ta b l e 5 . 1 T R A J E C TO R I E S O F A BA S E BA L L
PATH A (AIR) PATH B (VACUUM)
Range 100 m 177 m
Maximum height 53 m 77 m
Time of flight 6.6 s 7.9 s
Figure 5.11
(a) The path of a flyball calculated
Figure 5.11 shows the difference between the trajectory of a ball as predicted by a taking air resistance into account
(A) and in a vacuum (B).
computer model (a) and that of a bullet as tracked by ballistics experts on a rifle range (b). (b) The dotted line is a trajectory
The differences come about because bullets have more complicated motions than a round ball of a bullet in a vacuum. The solid
in flight. line shows how it is modified by
air drag.
(a) (Flyball) (b) (Bullet)
v0
B
A
in vacuum in vacuum
in in air
60 air
x
Trial-and-error has shown that the maximum range for a bullet fired in air is achieved at
an elevation of 33, a rough rule-of-thumb that works for most guns. As a crude approxima-
tion, the angle of descent is 2 1 times the angle of launch, so for a 33 elevation of fire, the
bullet will arrive at 82.5, or very nearly vertical. Any greater elevation of the gun merely
means that the bullet will actually drop vertically and the last part of the flight will add
nothing to the range. So the war veterans were probably right bullets did fall on them
vertically from the sky (and were just as lethal).
Exterior ballistics
Once a bullet leaves the muzzle of a gun, the laws of exterior ballistics take over as we
have seen above. Ballistics comes from the Greek word ballein meaning to throw. Modern
high-speed photography enables physicists, chemists and engineers to study the explosion of
propellant and the resulting motion of a projectile.
Typically, the bullet exits the muzzle at about 800 m s1, spinning at some 3000 revolu-
tions per second. At first, it goes off down the range with a slight wobble, which straightens
out after about 100 m, whereon it settles down to the main part of its flight, nose first, spin-
ning steadily. This is the useful part of the bullets life and it is intended that the bullet
should hit its target during this stage. In the last part of its flight, the final slowing occurs
and the bullet drops out of the sky. The spinning tries to keep the bullet pointing straight
ahead but as it falls toward Earth, the bullet cuts through the air sideways and air drag
becomes great (Figure 5.12).
on Figure 5.12
cti
dire An exaggerated view of a wobbling
l
na (overstable) bullet, showing how it
igi
Or can fly almost broadside at the end
of the trajectory.

The bullet begins to tumble end-over-end and by this stage has a very unpredictable
trajectory and is too unreliable. Rifles generally have an effective range of 400900 m,
although weapons like the AR15 Armalite (USA) are designed for modern jungle warfare and
are only accurate to 450 m but have an enormous muzzle velocity of 990 m s1 to
compensate. Because the bullet is tumbling at the end of this distance, it tears apart what-
ever it hits.
U N I F O R M C I R C U L A R M OT I O N 5.4
It really wasnt until the 1500s that people began to believe that the Earth rotates on its own
axis. Until then, the rate of rotation of objects was of little consequence. Today, rotation and
its measurement is of fundamental importance to society, whether it is the rotation of
When a wheel rolls along, is any microwave carousels, CDs, car tyres, engines, sewing machines, nuclei or orbiting satellites.
point at rest? In this section we will be looking at circular motion, that is, motion in a circle.
A ball on a string
Imagine you are whirling a ball in a horizontal circle on a piece of string. By Newtons first
law of motion, the ball is attempting to travel in a straight line but is stopped from doing so
by your pull on the string. As your hand is at the centre of the circle in which the ball moves,
the force on the string and hence on the ball is always towards your hand and hence towards
the centre. This force is called a centripetal force (Latin centrum = centre, petere = seek).
When the object travels at constant speed in a circle, it is said to be undergoing uniform cir-
Figure 5.13 cular motion. Notice that its direction is continually changing so its velocity is not constant.
Figure 5.13 shows the motion of a ball moving in a circle of radius r at constant speed.
v2 B
The velocity at any point on the circle is a tangent to the path at that point. For instance, at
position A, the velocity vector v1 points up the page. At point B, the velocity vector v2 points
to the left but still has the same length as the speed remains the same. As the direction of
v1 the velocity has changed, the ball is said to be accelerating (centripetal acceleration). The
magnitude and direction of this acceleration can be calculated by determining the change in
A velocity:
Change in velocity (v) = final velocity (v 2) initial velocity (v 1).
When we subtract a vector quantity, we turn it into an addition by reversing the direction of
the initial vector and adding the arrows head to tail. Hence: v = v2 + v1. As can be seen
Figure 5.14 from Figure 5.14, the resultant is directed to the centre of the circle, hence centre seeking.
Using similar triangles, it can be shown that the centripetal acceleration is
given by:
v2 2
v1
ac = v
r
where r is the radius of the circular path in metres. Note that the vector quantities a and v
v2
are no longer typed in bold. This is because they are not in the same direction. The acceler-
ation is toward the centre whereas the velocity is at right angles to this.
The ball is experiencing a centripetal force to keep it moving in a circle. This is provided
= v1
by the tension in the string. Using Newtons second law of motion (F = ma) we get:
resultant
v
2
Fc = m v
r
A car going around a curve safely N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A racing car travelling around a circular track is similar to a ball being whirled around on a Some coins were placed on a
string. A vehicle going round a bend on a level road can be viewed also as going on a circu- turntable in a line from the
lar path. The sideways friction between the tyres and the road provides the force needed to centre to the edge. The
stop the car just going straight ahead. The friction provides the centripetal force. If the car turntable was then turned on.
hit a wet patch all of a sudden, the friction would be reduced and insufficient centripetal What do you predict will happen?
force could be provided so the car would tend to go straight ahead, possibly even spinning
out of control.
Recall from earlier work that friction (Ff) is proportional to the force pressing the surfaces N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
together (the normal reaction FN): Ff = FN. On horizontal ground, the normal reaction is equal How many revolutions will coin A
to the objects weight (Fw or mg). do while rotating around coin B?
If centripetal force is provided by the friction we can combine the two equations: Try it. Youll be surprised.
2 2
F c = mv and F f = F N = mg, then mv = mg
r r
i.e. v max = gr
A
The maximum safe speed to go around a curve is represented by vmax in the final equa-
tion above. The mass of the car doesnt come into the equation so in this case has no effect
on the safe speed. Big cars have the same maximum safe speed as small cars.
Revolutions per second

You probably dont know the speed of the Moon about the Earth in metres per second or even B
kilometres per hour. But you would know that it makes one revolution in just over 27 days.
Engine speeds too are usually expressed in a number of revolutions per minute (rpm). At
idle, they might turn at 750 rpm and at cruising speed may reach say 4000 rpm. It depends
on the car.
The distance covered in one revolution by an object in uniform circular motion at a
distance r from the centre is equal to the circumference of the circle: s = 2r. If the time
taken to complete one revolution (called the period) is T, then:
v = s = 2r
t T N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
This velocity is called the tangential velocity (Latin tangere = to touch). It is sometimes The government steamer Relief
called radial velocity. Angular velocities will be dealt with later. attended the lighthouses along
the Queensland coast from 1899
42r m42r
Combining equations we get: ac = 2 Fc = to 1952. To cope with the huge
T T2
spray of seawater on the
Example windows of the steering cabin,
A motorcycle and rider with a total mass of 1250 kg are travelling around a circular track of a novel approach was taken.
radius 50 m at a constant speed of 40 m s1. Calculate (a) the centripetal acceleration; The windscreen in part consisted
(b) the centripetal force; (c) the time it takes to complete one lap. of a circular glass disk about
40 cm diameter that spun at
Solution
high speed.
v2 402 How did this keep the seaspray off
(a) ac = = = 32 m s 2.
r 50 the window? Why couldnt they use
v2 windscreen wipers as in a car?
(b) Fc = m = 1250 32 = 40 000 N. Propose two advantages and two
r
disadvantages of this sytem
2r 2r 2 3.14 50
(c) v= , or T = = = 7.85 s. compared with wipers.
T v 40

A c t i v i t y 5 . 4 T H E W H I R L I N G S TO P P E R
Tie a rubber stopper to a piece of string and whirl it in a horizontal circle above your
head. See if you can let it go so that it will hit the wall of your room at right angles.
Whereabouts in its circular travel did you have to let it go to achieve this? Which law
Figure 5.15
of motion is confirmed by this?
rubber Example 1
stopper In an investigation of uniform circular motion, a student whirled a 50 g rubber stopper above
his head in a horizontal circle of radius 1.2 m (Figure 5.15).
The string was passed through a piece of glass tubing and a set of slotted brass masses
tube 1.2 m was suspended off the end of the string. It required 150 g of hanging mass to provide enough
force to keep the rubber stopper whirling in a circle at a constant speed. Use g = 9.8 m s2
and calculate (a) the centripetal force provided by the hanging mass; (b) the tangential
velocity of the stopper; (c) the period of the rubber stopper; (d) the time taken for 10
revolutions of the stopper.
Solution
fishing paperclip (a) The centripetal force is provided by the weight of the hanging mass:
line
F c = F w = mg = 0.150 kg 9.8 m s 2 = 1.47 N
(b) F c = m v 2, or v 2 = Fcr = 1.47 N 1.2 m = 35.3
r m 0.050 kg
slotted v = 35.3 = 5.9 m s 1
masses
(c) T = 2r = 2 3.14 1.2 = 1.3 s
150 g
v 5.9
(d) Time for 10 revolutions = 10 revolutions 1.3 s/rev = 13 s.
Example 2
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E A car of mass 1750 kg is rounding a curve of radius 70 m at a speed of 20 m s1. The surface
A wheel is rolling along with is dry and the coefficient of friction between the tyres and the road is 0.65. The driver then
constant speed and a lump hits a wet patch on the curve where the coefficient of friction is 0.25. Calculate (a) how
of mud is thrown off its much below the safe maximum speed the car is doing on the dry section of the curve;
hindmost point. (b) whether the driver has to slow down to safely travel along the wet section and, if so, to
Will it touch the wheel again? what safe maximum speed; (c) would a smaller and lighter car allow the driver to go faster
around the curve?
?
Solution
(a) vmax = gr = 0.65 10 70 = 21.3 m s1; the driver is 1.3 m s1 below this speed.
(b) vmax = gr = 0.25 10 70 = 13.2 m s1; the driver has to slow down to this speed.
(c) vmax is independent of mass, so a lighter car would make no difference.
mud
Cambered surfaces
Some curved motor car racing tracks are cambered or banked, that is, tilted in towards the
centre of the curve. In this case the component of the vehicles weight down the slope helps
to provide centripetal force so the frictional force need not be as great. Alternatively, the car
can safely travel at much higher speeds. Road engineers often camber roads the wrong way
for purposes of drainage. You could imagine the effect this has on maximum safe speeds?
Some other examples
For a space shuttle and satellites orbiting the Earth or planets orbiting the Sun, the
centripetal force is provided by gravitational forces. This will be dealt with in a later
chapter.
113
In a gravitron or rotor at an amusement park, the person is pressed against the

wall. Actually, the person is trying to travel in a straight line but the wall pushes on
the person (the centripetal force) and the person pushes back. The centripetal force
is the normal force directed radially inward on the rider. At high speeds, this normal
force becomes sufficiently great to provide enough friction to stop the rider sliding
down the wall under the influence of gravity.
A spin-dryer works on a centripetal force principle. When the tub is spun at high
speed, the force of attraction between the water and the clothes is insufficient to
keep the water moving in a circle. The liquid moves tangentially and out through the
holes in the sides of the tub.
A c t i v i t y 5 . 5 S P I N - D RY E R C H A M P I O N S H I P S
Figure 5.16
1 Spin-dryers go pretty fast too fast to see with the naked eye. Design a Looping the loop in a vertical circle.
method to measure the speed of a spin-dryer in revolutions per minute (rpm).
You dont have to build it or have the parts at home or school; just design the
procedure and instrumentation.
2 If your method is simple, do it and report the result to the class. tension string
model
Questions aircraft
8 A car of mass 1900 kg is travelling at a constant speed of 25 m s1 around a

level corner of radius 50 m. Calculate (a) the centripetal acceleration; (b) the
centripetal force acting on the car. path of
9 An aeroplane is travelling at 200 m s1 in a circular path of radius 3000 m. Calculate motion
(a) the centripetal acceleration of the plane; (b) the time to complete one revolution.
10 The Moon takes a period of 27.3 days to complete one orbit of the Earth. If we
consider the path to be circular then its average radius is 3.84 108 m from the
centre of the Earth. Determine (a) the circumference of the Moons path;
(b) the speed of the Moon; (c) the Moons centripetal acceleration; (d) the
centripetal force (the Moons mass is 7.34 1022 kg).
11 Spin-dryers revisited:
(a) Why do clothes that comes out of a spin-dryer still feel damp?
(b) Would continued spinning at the same speed get rid of more water?
(c) Could you spin them completely dry?
(d) How does the water get from the clothes in the middle to the outside (is
there a more efficient way)?
12 A mass of 150 g is whirled in a horizontal circle of radius 95.0 cm on a string. If 10
revolutions at constant speed take 4.5 seconds, calculate the tension in the string.
5.5 N O N - U N I F O R M C I R C U L A R M OT I O N
The previous section dealt with uniform circular motion. This can be easily achieved by
objects travelling in horizontal circles. When they travel in vertical circles it is difficult to
keep the speed constant and this is called non-uniform circular motion. Two common exam-
ples of this are a ball on a string and an aircraft loop-the-loop. Devices that have stiff radial
arms such as a bicycle wheel, a ferris wheel or a pulley cannot be considered non-uniform as
they are completely rigid and all points on the circumference travel at the same speed.
When a ball is swung on the end of a string in a vertical circle, the speed of the ball is
greatest at the bottom of the circle and slowest at the top of the circle. Hence, the centri-
petal acceleration is smallest at the top and greatest at the bottom. In the following, the
symbol T is used to represent the tension in the string, whereas Fw represents the weight of
the ball (= mg). Refer to Figure 5.17.

Figure 5.17 At the top, the string doesnt have to pull as hard (Fc) because the weight is helping
it pull down:
vmin
2
F c = mv = T + F w or T = F c F w
T
FW
r
r
v At the side, the weight has no effect on the tension:
T T
2
v F c = mv = T
FW r
r
FW At the bottom, the string has to pull harder because it has to support the weight of

T the ball as well:
F W vmax
2
F c = mv = T F w or T = F c + F w
r
The apparent weight of the ball at the top or bottom is given by T.
Minimum velocity
The minimum velocity needed to keep a ball in a circular orbit is found to be the velocity at
the instant when the string begins to slacken (i.e. when T = 0) at the top. This is when:
mv 2min = T + F = 0 + F = mg
w w
r
2
v min = gr so v min = gr
Maximum velocity
The maximum velocity occurs at the bottom of the path:
mv 2max = T F
w
r
Example 1
I N V E S T I G AT I N G The breaking strain of a string is 50 N. A 250 g ball is whirled in a vertical circle of radius
1.2 m. Calculate (a) the minimum velocity needed to keep the ball in orbit; (b) the maximum
Many factories, laboratories and
speed that the ball can have before the string breaks.
industries use centrifuges. Locate
two places that use centrifuges Solution
and write a report comparing (a) vmin = gr = 10 1.2 = 3.5 m s1.
and contrasting their uses and (b) Maximum tension occurs at the bottom of the balls path:
performances.
2
mvmax
= T F w = 50 0.25 10 = 47.5 N
r
2
v max = 47.5 1.2 = 228, hence v max = 228 = 15 m s 1
0.25
Example 2
A stunt pilot is diving his plane vertically downwards at a velocity of 200 m s1 when he pulls
out of the dive and changes his direction to a circular path of radius of 1000 m. If his mass
is 70 kg and he continues to maintain constant speed in the circle, (a) what is the maximum
centripetal acceleration he experiences; (b) what is the maximum force that his seat will
exert on him? (c) If pilot blacks-out when the acceleration is greater than 3g, will he stay
conscious? (d) At what circular path radius would he be liable to black out?
Solution
v2 2002
(a) Maximum acceleration (at bottom of path) ac = = = 40 m s2.
r 1000
(b) At bottom of loop, the seat provides the equivalent of the tension:
2
mv max 2
= T F w, hence T = mv max + F w = 70 200 2 + 70 10 = 3500 N
r r 1000
(c) ac = 40 m s2. The number of g this is equal to is 40 m s2 10 m s2 = 4 g. This is

greater than 3g so the pilot will black out.
(d) To achieve 3g (30 m s2), the radius can be calculated:
v2 v2 = 2002 = 1330 m.
ac = , hence r =
r ac 3 10
Even at this radius, the pilot may black out for a few seconds. Too tight a loop or Figure 5.18
too high a speed could cause the pilot (and crew) to black out for much longer. For question 13.
This could cause lack of control of the aircraft, death, or both. Some stunt!
Modern military aircraft typically have g limits of around +9.5 to 5.5 g, although these
boundaries are continually being pushed back. Sensors are fitted into most cockpits to allow
the pilot to monitor g values to avoid overstressing the airframe. For additional safety and to
cope with crash impacts, cockpit interiors are designed to withstand 20 g in any direction.
Ejector seats and escape pods may suffer instantaneous loads (for about 0.1 s) in excess of
30 g. The requirement is that a seat shoots a pilot from an aircraft at zero forward speed and
zero altitude (the so-called zerozero seat) to an altitude at which the parachute can open 600 m
safely. Alternatively, the seat must be able to clear the tailplane of an aircraft travelling at
high speed. The record for a human experiencing g-loading is around 86 g by the occupant
of a rocket-sled. By comparison, civilian airlines experience a modest 1.5 g during take-off
acceleration.
The world record for loops is held by David Childs (USA). He did 2368 loops in a Bellanca aeroplanes
Decathlon plane over the North Pole on 9th August 1986. Imagine having Crazy Dave in your path
physics class.
Questions
13 A pilot is performing aerial acrobatics at an air show. He drives around a vertical loop
of radius 600 m (Figure 5.18). What is the minimum speed at the top of the loop?
14 A 75 kg pilot flies his plane in a vertical circle of radius 600 m and at the bottom
of the loop he is travelling at 120 m s1.
(a) What is the force of the seat on the pilot at this point?
(b) What is the acceleration in m s2?
(c) If he is known to black out at 5 g, would he black out at the bottom of the loop?
(d) If the plane was travelling at 80 m s1 at the top of the loop, what would
the force of the seat on the pilot be?
(e) At what speed would the plane have to travel for the pilot to be just weight-
less at the top of the loop, that is, his weight equals the centripetal force?
5.6 ANGULAR VELOCITY

When something completes one revolution it has gone through 360. One revolution per Figure 5.19
second is the same as 360 per second. This is called its angular velocity. r
r
r
In maths, you may have measured angles in radians. One radian (rad) is the angle when r
the arc length is the same as the radius of the circle (Figure 5.19). There are 2 radians in
a circle of 360, thus one revolution equals 2 radians. Angular velocity () is usually r
r
122 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context = 1 rad

1 rev = 2 rad
expressed in radians per second (rad s1). It is a vector quantity. The symbol is the Greek
letter omega. The word radian comes from the Latin radius, meaning the spoke of a wheel.
Tangential velocity (v) = angular velocity () radius (r).
v = r or = v
r
Centripetal acceleration and force can also be expressed in terms of angular velocity:
2 2
a c = v = 2r = v and F c = mv = m 2r
r r
2
The period T of a rotating object is given by: = 2 or T = .
T
Why angular velocities?

You may wonder what the point of using angular velocities is. A spinning disc such as a CD
Figure 5.20 (Figure 5.20) will have all points on the surface turning at the same angular speed even
An underside view of a CD showing the though different tracks will have different linear velocities. It makes the speed easier to state.
objective lens of the laser pickup. Another common way of expressing angular speeds is revolutions per minute (rpm).
direction of A microwave carousel does about 5 rpm.
rotation (1.2
m s1)
Example 1
A tyre is turning at 20 m s1 as a car travels along a road. If the diameter of the tyre is 62 cm,
calculate (a) the angular velocity of the tyre; (b) the centripetal acceleration of a 2 g stone
embedded in the tread of the tyre; (c) the centripetal force acting on the stone; (d) the rate
of rotation of the tyre in rpm.
Solution
v 20
(a) Radius = 0.31 m; = = = 64.5 rad s1.
r 0.31
v2 202
(b) ac = = = 1290 m s2.
r 0.31
(c) Fc = mac = 0.002 1290 = 2.58 N.
64.5 rad s1
(d) 1 revolution = 2 radians; hence number of revolutions per second =
2
= 10.2 rps = 616 rpm.
Example 2
A flywheel of radius 2.0 m is rotating at 120 rpm. Calculate (a) the angular velocity; (b) the
linear velocity of a point on the rim.
Photo 5.1 Solution
A tachometer. Note the red line from 120 2
5 to 7 thousand revs per minute. (a) 1 rpm = 2 rad min1; hence 120 rpm = 120 2 rad min1 = rad s1
60
= 4 rad s1.
(b) v = r = 4 2 = 25 m s1.
Everyday examples of angular motion

Record players generally have three speeds: 78 rpm for the old bakelite 78s; 45 rpm
for vinyl singles and 33 13 rpm for LPs. As angular speeds were constant for any
particular record, the outside track of a 12 inch (30 cm) LP travelled at a higher linear
speed than the inside track, so the outside track gave better sound reproduction.
For instance, the outside track at a radius of 14.5 cm had a linear speed of 50 cm s1,
whereas the inside track at a radius of 6.5 cm gave a linear speed of 22 cm s1.
To overcome the problem of differential track speeds, when compact disc players Figure 5.21
were developed the track speed was kept constant and the rotation speed was varied.
For example, the linear speed of a CD is about 1.2 m s1, so for an outside track torque
Power or torque
(radius 58 mm), the rotation rate is 200 rpm, whereas for an inside track (r = 23 mm),
power
the rotation rate is 500 rpm (see Figure 5.20). Computer disk drives work on the
same principle.
Car engines generally idle at about 800 rpm and cruise at somewhere between 2000 and
4000 rpm. Cars with V8 engines generally have more power and torque (turning force)
than either six or four cylinder cars so they can cruise at lower engine speeds. It is 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
unusual for car engines to rev above 6000 rpm because the valves and other components Engine
speed (rpm 1000)
can be damaged. Sportier cars are sometimes equipped with tachometers (Latin, tachy
= swift), which measure engine speeds in rpm. The maximum recommended speed is
indicated with a red line and if you red-line an engine you are certainly giving it a
good thrashing. The power and torque delivered by engines is not constant over the
full range of engine speeds (Figure 5.21). Cars are geared so that drivers can maintain
the engine speed just below the optimum power and torque range, which usually corre- Figure 5.22
Three examples of periodic motion.
sponds to the normal cruising speed in top gear. For instance, a Toyota Landcruiser
with a 4.5 L, six cylinder petrol engine develops maximum power at 4600 rpm and
maximum torque at 3200 rpm. At a cruising speed of 100 km h1, the engine turns
over at a relatively slow 2100 rpm, leaving plenty of revs in reserve for overtaking.
The same is true of motorcycles except that they run at much higher revs; a
range of 6000 rpm to a red line at 12 000 rpm is typical. candle pivoting
on two glasses
as it burns
Questions
15 Calculate the force acting on a mass of 3 kg that is rotating at 5 rad s1 in a
circle of radius 30 cm.
16 A microwave oven carousel has a diameter of 40 cm and does one revolution in
12 seconds. Calculate (a) the angular velocity of the carousel; (b) the tangential
velocity.
17 While reading the fifth song on a CD, the laser pickup diode is at a radial distance
pendulum guitar
of 50 mm from the centre of the spinning disc. If the linear velocity of the disc
directly above the laser pickup is 1.2 m s1, calculate the angular velocity in
(a) rad s1; (b) rpm.
5.7 S I M P L E H A R M O N I C M OT I O N
A swinging pendulum, a vibrating guitar string and a mass oscillating on the end of a spring
are all examples of periodic motion motion in which an object continually moves back
and forth over the same path in equal time intervals (Figure 5.22). The word oscillate means
to move back and forth. It comes from the Latin os, meaning mouth or face. The Greeks used
masks of the god Bacchus hung up as charms in vineyards and they swung back and forth in Figure 5.23
the breeze, hence os-cillate.
Not all periodic motions are as simple as a mask blowing in the bleeze; some are very
complex. However, in this chapter we will look at a simple type of periodic motion called
simple harmonic motion (SHM). T
The vibrating mass

Figure 5.23 shows a mass attached to a spring hooked to the ceiling. When it is at rest, the
tension in the spring and the weight are equal and opposite or equally balanced. This
position is called the equilibrium position (equi = equal, libra = balance). There is no net FW

force so the mass is not accelerating. The displacement of the mass from the equilibrium
position is also called the amplitude (x) and is zero in this position.
If the mass is pulled down and let go it oscillates up and down as shown in Figure 5.24.
A study of the forces and displacements is quite revealing.
Figure 5.24 1 2 3 4 5
x+
x=0
Table 5.2 summarises the variables involved.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Ta b l e 5 . 2
A candle with a nail through the
middle is supported on two
POSITION 1 POSITION 2 POSITION 3 POSITION 4 POSITION 5
glasses and lit at both sides. Net force 0 max. up 0 max. down 0
How could you check if the Acceleration 0 max. up 0 max. down 0
resulting motion is SHM or Velocity max. down 0 max. up 0 max. down
just periodic? Displacement 0 max. down 0 max. up 0
Position 1 the mass is moving downward through its equilibrium position so the
net force is zero but it is moving with maximum speed. As there is no net force,
the acceleration must also be zero (Newtons second law: F a).
Position 2 the mass is at its lowest point so displacement is a maximum in the
downward or negative direction. The spring is stretched so the tension in it is greater
than the weight of the object so the net force is directed upward (positive).
Acceleration is also directed up.
Position 3 the mass is back to its equilibrium position but is now moving with
maximum velocity upward.
Position 4 the spring is now unstretched so the tension in the spring is zero. The
only force comes from the weight so the net force is a maximum in the downward
(negative) direction. Displacement is a maximum in the positive direction.
Position 5 equilibrium, with the object moving down at maximum speed.
In summary:
Simple harmonic motion (SHM) is periodic motion in which F x.
When the force (F) is a maximum, the displacement (x) is a maximum but in the
opposite direction.
When the force is a minimum (zero), the displacement (x) is also a minimum (zero).
Mathematically:
F x or F = kx
The constant (k) is called the spring constant. Its units will be N m1. The stiffer the spring
the larger the spring constant.
Example Figure 5.25
12 cm
2 kg
When a mass of 2.0 kg is attached to a spring it stretches by 12 cm (Figure 5.25).

(a) Calculate the spring constant. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
(b) What would the stretch be if a further 1.0 kg was added?
A pendulum has a bucket for
Solution the bob and it is half-filled
F 20 |with water. When it freezes,
(a) F = kx or k = = = 167 N m1.
x 0.12 predict what happens to the
F 30 period of the pendulum.
(b) x = = = 0.18 m = 18 cm.
k 167
Experiments show that if the spring is of negligible mass compared with the object hanging
on it, then the period (T ) of the motion is given by:

m
T = 2
k
Example bucket
A light spring has a mass of 100.0 g attached to it. If it has a spring constant of 4.5 N m1,
calculate the period of the vibrating spring.
water
Solution

m 0.1000
T = 2 = 2 = 0.93 s
k 4.5
Journey to the centre of the Earth

An idea that has intrigued people for years is a hole through the Earth. Imagine a hole from
Brisbane to London it would be about 1.3 107 m long (Figure 5.26). If you dropped a Figure 5.26
parcel in one end it would come out the other some time later. A 1 kg parcel dropped into the
hole at Brisbane would experience an initial force due to gravity of 10 N and would be pulled London
to the centre of the Earth some 6.5 106 m away. SHM would apply and we could
F 10
calculate the force constant (k) = w = = 1.5 106 N m1.
x 6.5 106

m 1
Using the SHM formula: T = 2 = 2 = 5066 s (for one oscillation).
k 1.5 106
The time to get to the other side of the Earth would be half that or 2532 s (= 42 minutes).
Questions Brisbane
18 What assumptions have been made in the above example about the hole through
the Earth that would make it an impossibility to achieve? List as many as you can.
19 A light spring has a mass of 200 g attached to it. When it is set oscillating, its
period is measured to be 1.2 s. Calculate its spring constant.

20 To measure the mass (M) of an astronaut in the weightless conditions of space,

an oscillating chair (mass m) bound to a spring is used. The body mass measuring
device (BMMD) has a period of oscillation of 0.901 49 s when no one is in it.
When one of the Skylab astronauts sat in it its period increased to 2.088 32 s.
Figure 5.27 If the spring constant for the BMMD is 605.6 N m1, calculate the mass of the
chair and of the astronaut.
The pendulum
If you hang an apple on the end of a long thread fixed at its upper end, and then set it
swinging, you can see that the motion is periodic (see Figure 5.27). It is also simple harmonic
motion. Such an arrangement is called a pendulum (Latin pendulus = swinging). The weight
on the end is called the bob. Why bob? It comes from the Old French bober, meaning to
length mock. When you mock someone your head moves up and down as you laugh.
l As the pendulum, of length l, moves from A to B and back again to A, it makes a com-
plete oscillation. The time required is the period (T). The number of oscillations per second
is called its frequency (f). The sideways displacement (x) is the sideways distance from the
A vertical or equilibrium position. The maximum displacement during the oscillations is called
mg B the amplitude (amplus = large). The position C is called the equilibrium position. The forces
C
x acting on a pendulum during its travel are shown in Figure 5.28.
At an angle of as shown, the restoring force is equal to the component of the weight
(= mg) directed back to the equilibrium position (= mg sin ). The tension in the string (T1)
Figure 5.28 is equal to the component (= mg cos ). At the equilibrium position, the restoring force is
zero as equals zero and the component of the weight pulling the bob sideways is therefore
pivot
also zero (sin 0 = 0). The tension in the string (T2) is now equal to mg as cos 0 = 1. The
tension T2 is greater than T1.
T1 The pendulum formula

T2 Experiments show that the period of a pendulum is given by:

l
mg sin T = 2

g
mg cos
Note that the period is independent of the mass of the bob and amplitude (if it is fairly small,
mg e.g. less than 20) but as the graphs in Figure 5.29 show, T is proportional to l .
Galileo is said to have confirmed that the period of a pendulum is independent of its
amplitude. He observed the gentle swaying of a sanctuary lamp in the cathedral at Pisa. Using
mg
his pulse as a timer he found that successive oscillations were made in equal times, regard-
less of the amplitude. He later verified these observations in his laboratory.
Figure 5.29 The simple pendulum can be used to calculate g at any place by measuring T and l for a
T
pendulum oscillating at that place. Countless thousands of such measurements have been
made in the course of geophysical prospecting.
Example
The period of a simple pendulum 50.0 cm long is 1.42 s. Determine the acceleration due to
I
gravity at that location.
Solution
T
l l
T = 2 2 2
g , or T = 4 g
4 2l 4 2 0.50
I Hence g = = = 9.79 m s 2
T2 1.42 2
Activity 5.6 A SPRING PENDULUM

Make a pendulum out of a spring instead of a piece of string. Set it swinging and youll
soon see that T2 is greater than T1 as it bobs up and down as well as oscillating back and
forth. The motion is fascinating. It almost makes you go to sleep.
A c t i v i t y 5 . 7 T H E S W E E T S P OT Figure 5.30
The sweet spot. The centre of
Any object that can vibrate like a pendulum is called a physical pendulum as distinct
percussion can be measured
from a simple pendulum, which is a bob on a string. A wooden ruler, a cricket bat and a experimentally.
squash racquet can oscillate back and forth if allowed to pivot.
pivot
1 Suspend a metre ruler on a pin or nail through the hole in its end. Make sure it
can vibrate freely. Set it in motion and measure the time it takes to make 10
swings. Calculate its period (T) and then calculate the effective length (l) using pivot P
the pendulum formula. Assume g = 9.8 m s2. Mark this distance on the ruler.
It is probably at about the 60 cm mark. This is called the centre of oscillation or
centre of percussion (Latin percussio = striking). Youll see why in the next part. P
2 Repeat the above but use a cricket bat this time. Use two pins stuck into the
handle at a point where your main grip would be and suspend the bat between
P pivot
the backs of two chairs. The pins can act as a pivot (Figure 5.30). Time it for
10 swings and calculate the effective length. Mark the centre of percussion (P).
This is also called the sweet spot because there is no sting in your hands if you
hit the ball at this point. If the ball hits at any other point, the bat rotates
about some other point than P, which accounts for the sting.
3 Try the same for a squash racquet. An effective length of 49 cm is common,
which puts the sweet spot right at the middle of the head area. However, why do
some world champion players hold their racquets where the grip joins the shaft?
The answer is that the racquet is not rigid but flexes like a guitar string about
the midpoint of the shaft while the end of the handle stays still. Thats where
they grip it to avoid the jarring. But designers also have to consider the power
centre the point at which maximum power is transferred to the ball. This is
another complication that also applies to cricket, baseball and softball bats. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
This will be discussed further in Chapter 8, Momentum.
Two side-by-side pendulums
4 Over the past few years the sweet spot in tennis racquets has become higher up are oscillating. One has a
the head of the racquet. As a result, players can reach higher for the ball when period of 6 s and the other a
they serve, opening up more of the opponents court. This is a huge advantage period of 7 s.
because players can smack the ball that much harder instead of aiming carefully. If the bobs are touching at one
For example, the worlds fastest servers can now reach more than 200 km/h time, how much longer must you
speeds that were unheard of several years ago. Commentators have argued that wait until they come together
speeds over 200 km/h are basically unplayable (and therefore boring) and that again?
tennis balls need a 20% diameter increase to slow the maximum speed to a
playable 180 km/h. If you can get hold of an old tennis racquet and a new one,
compare the position of the sweet spots by the pendulum method. Is the above
assertion correct? N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
You have been asked by your
Questions employer to write an instruction
manual for a swing set in which
21 Determine the period of a pendulum with a length of 67.2 cm at a place where
you have to explain how a user
(a) g = 9.81 m s2; (b) g = 9.78 m s2.
can make it go higher.
22 (a) If you were accelerating upwards in a lift at 1.5 m s2 what would the
What would you say? Now explain
apparent acceleration due to gravity be?
the physics behind your
(b) What would the period of oscillation of a 30 cm pendulum be in this lift?
instructions.
(c) If the period of oscillation was 0.95 s, what acceleration upward would the
lift be undergoing?

S H M A N D C I R C U L A R M OT I O N C O M PA R E D 5.8
There is a very clear relationship between SHM and circular motion. Galileo was the first
person to make observations in this respect. In 1610 he was using his newly constructed tele-
Figure 5.31 scope and discovered the four principal moons of Jupiter. Over weeks of observation, each
moon seemed to be moving back and forth past the planet in what we now call simple
harmonic motion. This has been confirmed by plotting his data. But actually, the moons move
in an essentially constant circular motion around Jupiter. What Galileo saw and what you
can see with a pair of binoculars is this circular motion edge on, and they look as though
pendulum they are oscillating back-and-forth beside the planet.
Observing the two motions together

If you could set a pendulum swinging above an object moving in a horizontal circle at con-
stant speed, you could get the two moving side-by-side if the speeds were right (Figure 5.31).
If a light was used to project an image of the oscillating objects on to a wall, the
shadows of the two objects would move in exactly the same manner (Figure 5.32).
Consider point P making a complete revolution of the circle in Figure 5.32. The point P
makes a complete oscillation on the straight line of the pendulum. Equally spaced points on
the circle project as points on the line as shown. This illustrates that maximum acceleration
occurs at the maximum amplitude of the pendulum, and minimum acceleration occurs when
Figure 5.32 the amplitude is a minimum. This is a characteristic of SHM.
screen P' In more formal language: Simple harmonic motion is the projection of uniform circular
motion on the diameter of the circle in which the circular motion occurs.
Practice questions
P
*23 A boy sitting in a train carriage moving at constant velocity throws a ball
light source straight up in the air.
(a) Will the ball fall behind him, in front of him or into his hands?
(b) What happens if the train accelerates while the ball is in the air?
(c) What happens if the train turns a corner while the ball is in the air?
*24 A motorcycle is driven off a cliff at a horizontal velocity of 15 m s1 and takes
2.5 seconds to reach the ground below. Calculate (a) the height of the cliff;
(b) the distance out from the base of the cliff that the motorcycle lands;
(c) the impact velocity.
*25 When a wedding ring is thrown horizontally out of a fifth floor window 15 m off
the ground, it lands 7.5 m out from the base of the building. Calculate (a) the
throwing speed; (b) the impact velocity; (c) how long the marriage will last.
*26 A golf ball is hit by a club and moves off with a velocity of 30 m s1 at an angle
of 55 to the horizontal. Find the following:
(a) The initial vertical and horizontal components of the velocity.
(b) The maximum height reached.
(c) The time of flight.
(d) The horizontal range.
123
*27 A soccerball is kicked off the ground at an angle of 20 to the horizontal. It

moves away at 30.0 m s1. Calculate (a) the vertical velocity after 0.5 s;
(b) the velocity of the ball after 1.0 s; (c) the maximum height reached;
(d) the time of flight; (e) the range of the ball.
**28 The world record for fresh hens egg throwing is 96.90 m, set in 1981. Assuming
no air resistance, what would have been the (a) throwing speed; (b) elevation
angle; (c) maximum height; (d) time of flight?
*29 A car of mass 2250 kg is travelling around a circular track of radius 90 m at a
constant speed of 30 m s1. Calculate (a) the centripetal acceleration;
(b) the centripetal force; (c) what time it takes to complete one lap.
**30 An aviator, pulling out of a dive, follows the arc of a circle and is said to have
experienced 3 gs. Explain what this means.
*31 In the Bohr model of a hydrogen atom, an electron orbits a proton in a circle of
radius 5.28 1011 m with a speed of 2.18 106 m s1. What is the acceleration
of the electron in this model?
*32 Convert the following:
(a) 1 rad to degrees;
(b) 8.5 rad to degrees;
(c) 90 to rad;
(d) 5 rpm to rad s1;
(e) 100 rad s1 to rev per second;
(f) 2 revolutions of a 50 cm radius circle to metres;
(g) 20 rad s1 of a 1.5 m radius circle to linear m s1.
*33 An amusement park Ferris wheel moves in a horizontal circle of 15 m radius and
completes five turns every minute.
(a) What is the acceleration of a passenger at (i) the highest point;
(ii) the lowest point?
(b) If the passenger has a mass of 65 kg, what would her apparent weight be at
these two points?
**34 The maximum breaking strain of a piece of cord is 250 N. What is the maximum
rpm at which the line can retain a 3 kg mass swung in a 1.8 m radius circle?
**35 A flywheel of radius 65 cm is rotating at 2000 rpm. Calculate (a) the angular
velocity; (b) the linear velocity of a point on the rim.
*36 A light spring stretches by 20 cm when a mass of 200 g is hung vertically from it.
(a) Calculate its spring constant.
(b) When it is set oscillating, what would be its period?
(c) What would be its frequency be?
*37 Determine the period of a pendulum with a length of 45.0 cm at a place where:
(a) g = 9.805 m s2; (b) 9.785 m s2.
**38 When travelling upwards in a lift at constant speed a pendulum has a period of
1.30 s. When accelerating, however, the period becomes 1.22 s. Calculate
(a) the length of the pendulum; (b) the acceleration of the lift.
Assume g = 9.8 m s2.
**39 A centripetal force experiment was conducted to find relationships between
some of the variables.
Part A was conducted to determine the relationship between centripetal
force (Fc) and velocity (v) in horizontal circular motion. Using the experimental
set-up as shown in Figure 5.33, a rubber stopper was swung at constant speed in
a horizontal circle. The hanging mass, which provided the centripetal force, was
varied and the time for 10 complete revolutions of the rubber stopper was noted.
In all cases the radius of revolution (r) was kept at 1.5 m and the same rubber
stopper was used each time. The mass of the rubber stopper (ms) was 50 g.

Figure 5.33 radius r

For question 39.
rubber bob
glass tube
sticky tape to
mark radius
mass carrier
and masses
The results shown in Table 5.3 were obtained.
Ta b l e 5 . 3 C E N T R I P E TA L F O R C E DATA ( PA RT A )
m h (g) m s (g) RADIUS (m) TIME FOR 10 REVOLUTIONS (s)
50 50 1.5 24.6
100 50 1.5 17.4
150 50 1.5 14.2
200 50 1.5 12.3
250 50 1.5 11.0
(a) Calculate the centripetal force (Fc) provided by the hanging mass for each
stage.
(b) Calculate the period (T) and the linear velocity (v) of the rubber stopper for
each stage.
(c) Plot Fc vs v using the x-axis for v.
(d) Suggest a possible relationship between Fc and v. Plot the appropriate data
to confirm or refute the suggested relationship. Does it agree with the
centripetal force formula?
Part B Relationship between radius and velocity. The above experiment was
repeated with a 100 g rubber stopper. This time the hanging mass was kept
constant at 100 g while the radius of revolution was varied. Again, the time for
10 revolutions was measured and the data recorded in Table 5.4.
Ta b l e 5 . 4 C E N T R I P E TA L F O R C E DATA ( PA RT B )
m h (g) m s (g) RADIUS (m) TIME FOR 10 REVOLUTIONS (s)
100 100 0.8 17.9
100 100 1.0 20.1
100 100 1.2 22.0
100 100 1.5 24.8
(e) Calculate and plot r vs v using v for the x-axis again.

(f) Suggest a relationship and plot to confirm.
(g) Does it agree with the formula?
(h) What would the shape of an Fc vs r graph look like (r on the x-axis) if ms
and v were kept constant?
**40 An experiment was carried out to establish the relationship between length and
period of a simple pendulum. A brass bob was tied to a length of cotton thread
and as its length was increased, the time for 10 oscillations was noted. The
results are as follows:
Length (cm) 20.0 25.0 35.0 40.0 45.0
Time for 10 swings (s) 9.0 10.0 11.9 12.7 13.6
(a) Plot a graph to establish the possible relationship.
(b) Plot another graph to confirm the suggested relationship.
(c) From either graph, determine the time for 10 swings if the length was
(i) 30.0 cm; (ii) 60 cm.
**41 The following data (Table 5.5) were taken from Overlander 4WD magazines road
test of some four wheel drives.
Ta b l e 5 . 5 F O U R W H E E L D R I V E E N G I N E DATA
LANDCRUISER LAND ROVER PAJERO NISSAN PATROL
Capacity 4.477 L 3.528 L 2.972 L 4.169 L
Maximum power 158 kW 114 kW 109 kW 129 kW
at 4600 rpm at 4700 rpm at 5000 rpm at 4000 rpm
Maximum torque 373 Nm 271 Nm 234 Nm 330 Nm
at 3200 rpm at 3000 rpm at 4000 rpm at 3200 rpm
Figure 5.34
For question 42.
Comment critically on the following assertions by referring to the data.
(a) The bigger the engine capacity the greater the power and torque. 5 20 1
18
(b) Smaller capacity engines have to rev at a higher rate (rpm) for their 12
maximum power and torque than do bigger engines.
4
(c) Engines have to turn at a higher rpm to get maximum power than they have 9
13
11 14
to for maximum torque.

P
9
10
8
***42 A dart is thrown horizontally towards a bulls eye of a dart board but it strikes
16
15
the 3 on the bottom of the board directly underneath, 0.19 s later (Figure 5.34).
7 2
What is the distance from the bulls eye to the 3? 19 17
3
***43 An arrow is fired off a 50 m cliff at an angle of 20 above the horizontal. If it Q
has an initial velocity of 35 m s1 and strikes the rocks below, calculate
(a) the time of flight; (b) the impact velocity; (c) how far out from the base
of the cliff the arrow strikes the ground.
***44 In the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Bob Beamon shattered the world long jump
Figure 5.35
record with a jump of 8.90 m. His speed on take-off was measured at 9.5 m s1, For question 45.
about equal to that of a sprinter. How close did he come to achieving maximum
range for this speed in the absence of air resistance? The value of g in Mexico
City is 9.78 m s2. 53
***45 A plane, diving at an angle of 53.0 to the vertical, releases a projectile at an
altitude of 730 m. The projectile hits the ground 4.50 s after being released
(Figure 5.35). 730 m
(a) What is the speed of the plane?
(b) How far did the projectile travel horizontally during its flight?
(c) What is the impact velocity?

***46 A person stands against the vertical walls of a cylindrical rotor in an amusement
park. As it rotates, she feels pressed against the walls of the rotor and she
remains suspended there as the floor moves away. The centripetal force is the
normal force with which the wall pushes on the person.
(a) If the rotor has a radius of 2.1 m and the coefficient of friction between the
person and the wall is 0.40, calculate the minimum speed of the rotor to
just keep the person suspended on the wall.
(b) If the person has a mass of 49 kg, calculate the centripetal force acting on
her.
***47 A pilot of mass 80 kg who has been diving his plane vertically downwards with a
velocity of 120 m s1 pulls out of his dive by changing his course to a circular
path of radius 800 m. If he maintains his constant speed,
(a) what will be his maximum acceleration;
(b) if he can stand 4.5 g without blacking out, will he remain conscious;
(c) what is the maximum force that his seat exerts on him?
***48 For a simple pendulum undergoing four oscillations:
Figure 5.36 (a) Draw graphs showing the relationships between the following variables
The ballistic pendulum (i) displacement vs time; (ii) velocity vs time; (iii) acceleration vs time;
(for question 49).
(iv) velocity (y-axis) vs displacement (x-axis). Remember that s, v and
a are vector quantities so have + and direction.
(b) Repeat the question above but this time imagine that the pendulum is
damped, that is, friction causes it to slow down as it moves.
1.2 m
(c) The v vs s graph for damped motion is said to be a strange attractor. Look
up a book on chaos theory to find out what this means.
***49 A bullet of mass 10.0 g is fired into a ballistic pendulum a wooden block,
combined which has a mass of 1.000 kg. The wooden block is suspended from a string
bullet mass 1.20 m long as shown in Figure 5.36. The bullet enters the stationary block and
begins to remains embedded in it. Using the value of 9.80 m s2 for g, calculate the period
oscillate
of the pendulum.
***50 Courier-Mail correspondent Dave Barry wrote about an exciting new sport taking
off in Florida, USA. Its called car bowling where you go up in an airplane and
drop bowling balls on cars. He wrote: Women think You drop what, on what,
from what? whereas men think When can I do this? You fly over an old car on
(Answer true or false) a private runway at 145 km/h at an altitude of 20 m and attempt to hit the car
The period of a pendulum with a bowling ball. The beauty of car bowling is that even if you miss, you get
depends on the amplitude. to watch a bowling ball bounce along a runway. Its amazing.
A pendulum accelerates (a) How far horizontally should you be from the car when you drop the ball?
through the lowest part (b) What would your sight angle be at this point? (Sight angle is the angle
of its swing. between the line to the target and the vertical at the drop point) (c) Assume
An object moving in a circle that the impact angle on contact with the runway equals the launch angle after
with constant speed has no contact, but with a 20% reduction in speed. Calculate (i) the maximum height
acceleration. and (ii) the distance the ball travels before its next impact.
CHAPTER 06
Astrophysics
From the very earliest days, humans have looked into the sky and wondered what its all
about. Thousands of years ago priests in Babylon (now present-day Iraq) stood gazing into
the night sky, not realising just how big it was. All sorts of theories, all sorts of myths and
legends have grown out of attempts to understand how the universe works.
The big questions on everyones mind concerned the solar system (Sun and planets) and
the universe in general. The old geocentric view of our solar system said that the Sun
went around the Earth (Greek geo from gaia = Earth and centro = centre). The modern
view belongs to the Polish astronomer and priest Nicolas Koppernigk (Copernicus, as he was
better known in Latin), who published his heliocentric or Sun-centred theory in 1540. Not
that it was a new concept, for the Greek philosophers Heraclides and Aristarchus put forward
a similar view in 300 BC, but after they were threatened with death they kept quiet.
The modern view of the entire universe came much later. The general opinion up until the
1920s suggested that the universe was infinite in size and in a steady unchanging static
state, made up of fixed stars that had always shone and would continue to shine forever. This
view was well entrenched even Einstein believed it! But in 1929 an astronomer made a
finding that was to shake the foundations of this steady state model forever. His name was
Edwin Hubble and his story follows later. The steady-state theory clung on until the 1970s
when it died and was buried.
Like those before us, do you ever wonder about these:
What makes the Universe tick? How do the four forces work together?
What is the Universe made of? We dont know whats out there.
Was Einsteins anti-gravity theory really a great mistake or ahead of its time?
Why do we live in a three-dimensional world; is it just a fluke?
Can we travel in time and could we come back?
Can black holes collapse to infinite density? How would you know?
Where does consciousness come from; where does life come from?
Are we alone?
6.1 T H E N AT U R E O F T H E U N I V E R S E
Heres what The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy has to say about the size of the universe: Photo 6.1
The sky at night is almost
Space is big. Really big. You just wont believe how vastly hugely mindbogglingly big it is. I mean black but so what?
you may think its a long way down the road to the chemist, but thats peanuts to space Its just
so big that by comparison, bigness itself looks small.
Astrophysicists agree. They can also answer some of the other questions above.
The universe is between 10 and 15 billion years old, with most scientists agreeing on
13.4 billion years (a billion is 109).
The remotest object from us is the quasar PC 1247+3406 at 13 200 million light
years (1.25 1023 km). One light year is the distance light travels in one year or
9.46 1012 km. Hence, the edge of the universe is believed to be 15 000 million light
years from us.

Some of the other questions will be answered later in this chapter. Some may never be
answered but physicists will keep on trying. Many laws have been developed in this quest.
To appreciate the size of the universe, imagine the Earth is the size of a pinhead. The Sun
would be the size of a grape about 1 21 metres away. Jupiter would be a pea 8 metres away,
and Pluto a grain of dust 70 m in the distance. Thats our solar system. Whew!
Now imagine the whole solar system shrunk down so that the Sun is now a pinhead. The
Earth would orbit a few centimetres away, and Pluto about 60 cm away. On this scale our
nearest star system containing Proxima Centauri is 3 km away and the size of a tiny
sand grain. Other stars are also like sand grains and they reach out a distance equal to the
distance from us to the moon. Thats our galaxy. Big in anyones language!
Lastly, imagine our galaxy shrunk down to the size of a dinner plate. Our nearest neigh-
bouring galaxy is Andromeda another dinner plate just a few metres away. The edge of
the visible universe is many kilometres in every direction. But extending past that are more
galaxies that we cant see because light has yet to reach us. Scientists believe that there are
approximately 100 billion galaxies, with each galaxy containing between 100 and 200 billion
star systems. Thats our universe. To better understand the universe as it is today, you have
to appreciate three fundamental observations: Olberss paradox, Hubbles law, and the Cosmic
Microwave Background Radiation, of which more later.
Astronomical distances
It takes light about 10 billion years to get from the edge of the observable universe to us.
Thats a huge distance and the units metre and kilometre seem inadequate. Astronomers use
the unit megaparsec (Mpc) for distance. A parsec (pc) is a distance based on how far away a
star would be if it appeared to change position by an angle of one second when viewed from
the Earth at 6-month intervals. It sounds complex but astronomers assure us it is eminently
suitable for their work. They also use light-years (ly) for distance: the distance light travels
in a year. They use km s1 for velocity or express it as a fraction of the speed of light (c).
1 light-year (ly) 9.47 1015 m
1 parsec (pc) 3.262 ly
3.09 1016 m
1 megaparsec (Mpc) 1 million parsec
3.262 106 ly = 3.262 Mly
3.09 1019 km
Speed of light (c) 3 108 m s1
Temperature (T) K = C + 273
Example
The Hydra galaxy is 1960 million light-years (Mly) away and has a radial velocity of
60 500 km s1. Convert the distance to Mpc and the speed to units of c.
Solution
Mpc = Mly/3.262, hence Mpc = 1960/3.262 = 600 Mpc
v in units of c = m s 8 = 60 500 1000
1
= 0.20 c
3 10 3 108
Olberss paradox
In 1823, a German astronomer Heinrich Olbers stumbled on a contradiction that could not be
easily explained. The following activity poses this contradiction.
Astrophysics 135
Activity 6.1 THE NIGHT SKY

You dont really need to carry out this experiment a gedanken (thinking) experiment
will do!
Have a look at the sky at night. Is it black or white? Of course it is mostly black (see
Photo 6.1), with about 4000 tiny stars twinkling away; but why doesnt the night sky
look uniformly bright? If there were an infinite number of stars which had been glowing
for an infinite time, no matter where you looked youd see a star and so the night sky
should be ablaze with light. But its not!
We now know that the old-fashioned idea of an infinite, static universe is simply wrong. The
universe has a finite age, and is not just three-dimensional as we perceive things on Earth.
Because only 10 billion years have elapsed thus far, we can only observe stars out to a large,
but strictly finite, distance of 10 billion light-years or so. This observable universe contains
a large but finite number of stars, about 1000 billion (1012). These stars contribute to the
observed brightness of the night sky, which glows very faintly.
A c t i v i t y 6 . 2 L I G H T AT A D I S TA N C E
Heres a good experiment you could try using a computer-based laboratory such as the
TI graphing calculator and the CBL. There are plenty of other ways to do it as well.
Set up equipment as shown in the Figure 6.1.
light bulb Figure 6.1

Apparatus to measure how light
Hold probe 1 m from light bulb. intensity varies with distance.
light probe
CBL unit
TI-83
calculator
1 Mark off distances of 1 m and 2 m from the light socket. Then divide the distance
into 10-centimetre intervals between the one-metre and two-metre marks.
2 While you are taking intensity readings during the activity, the light sensor
should be pointed directly at the illuminated bulb with the end of the sensor
held a certain distance from the bulb, as specified in the calculator program.
3 Darken the room, with the exception of the light source.
4 Collect light intensity data for different distances.
5 The data you collected will be modelled with a power relation of the form
y = ax b. First, you will need to find the values of A and B. The rest is up to
you and your graphing calculator. Good luck.
6 According to scientific theory, the correct model for light intensity against
distance is an inverse square relationship. This relation is expressed
mathematically as: y = a/x 2 (inverse square law).
If this equation is expressed in the form y = ax b, what would be the value of b?
Is this consistent with the models you found earlier?

Hubbles law
During the 1920s astronomers looked at starlight through spectrometers and noticed that the
spectral lines of elements such as hydrogen and helium seemed to be occurring at longer
wavelengths than normal (more on this in Chapter 29). If you look at the centre colour pho-
tos in this book you will see the normal spectra of many elements. The shift in wavelength
was towards the red end of the spectra and so the term red shift was coined for this phe-
nomenon. Physicists deduced that the shift in wavelength meant that the star was moving
relative to the observer on Earth, similarly to the way the sound of an ambulance siren seems
to change as it moves towards or away from you. This is called the Doppler effect and is
discussed fully in Chapter 16 (section 16.3). Red shift is also treated comprehensively in
Chapter 29.
In 1929, US astronomer Edwin Hubble used his 100 inch (2.5 m) diameter telescope to
show that the universe is expanding. This was a monumental breakthrough. And if galaxies
are moving away from each other, there must have been a time when they were all together.
This was about 10 billion years ago the time of the Big Bang when the whole universe
was the size of a dot (.).
Hubble combined his knowledge of galaxy red shifts with an estimate of the distance to
these galaxies, and determined that galaxies more distant from us were moving away from us
more rapidly than closer galaxies. This relationship has become known as Hubbles law.
Mathematically the law is written as v = H0D, where v is the radial velocity that is,
how fast the galaxy is moving directly away from us; D is the distance to the galaxy; and H0
is the Hubble constant. The radial velocity is sometimes called the recession velocity (Latin
recessio = recede or withdraw).
A c t i v i t y 6 . 3 H OW O L D I S T H E U N I V E R S E ?
A plot of distance and radial velocity gives the Hubble constant, which is a measure of
the rate of the expansion of the universe. It can be used to calculate the age of the
universe.
1 Use the data in Table 6.1 to plot distance (Mpc) on the x-axis and radial velocity
(km s1) on the y-axis. The table also shows the laboratory values for the three
common spectral lines (e.g. H is 656.3 nm).
TA B L E 6 . 1
SPECTRAL LINES RADIAL

GALACTIC VELOCITY DISTANCE DISTANCE
CLUSTER (nm) (km s 1 ) (Mly) (Mpc)
Ca-K Ca-H H
(393.4) (396.9) (656.3)
Virgo 394.9 397.0 656.3 1 140 38 12
Perseus 400.5 397.1 656.4 5 430 179 55
Hercules 407.0 397.4 656.5 10 400 360 110
Pegasus II 410.2 397.5 656.6 12 800 490 150
Ursa Major 1 413.1 397.9 656.8 15 000 750 230
Gemini 424.1 398.2 657.0 23 400 980 300
Ursa Major 2 446.4 398.9 657.3 40 400 1 500 460
Hydra 472.7 399.5 657.6 60 500 1 960 601
3C295 574.4 404.4 660.1 138 000 5 700 1 747
Astrophysics 137
2 Calculate the slope of the line produced by these points (= Hubble constant, H0).
It should be given in (km/s)/Mpc. Most modern estimates put it somewhere
between 70 (km/s)/Mpc and 75 (km/s)/Mpc. Show your calculations.
3 We can use this to determine the age of the universe. At the instant of the
Big Bang, all the matter in the universe was together. It has had all of the
intervening time to fly apart to its present positions. A galaxy that is more
distant from us is so because we have been separating from it at a faster rate in
that time. (Remember, Hubbles law states that the farther a galaxy is from us,
the more rapidly it is receding from us.) Choose a point on the line in your
graph that you used to find Hubbles constant. This point represents the
distance and recession velocity of a galaxy following Hubbles law. The only
problem is that Mpc and km are different units, and seconds arent terribly
good units for measuring the age of the universe. Convert Mpc to km
(1 Mpc = 3.09 1019 km).
Use the relationship v = d/t or t = d/v to calculate the time taken for the galaxy
to cover the distance at the given velocity. Convert seconds to years. It should
be about 10 billion years. Alternatively, take the reciprocal of the Hubble
constant and multiply by 3.09 1019 km to get the age in seconds. Convert
to years.
Example
Using the data for the cluster Virgo, calculate (a) the Hubble constant; (b) the age of the
universe.
Solution
(a) H0 = v = 23 400 km/s = 78 km/s/Mpc
D 300 Mpc
(b) 300 Mpc = 300 3.09 1019 = 9.27 1021 km
t = 9.27 10 km = 3.96 1017 s = 1.256 1010 years = 12.56 billion years.

21
23 400 km/s
Alternatively: t = 1 3.09 1019 km = 3.96 1017 s = 1.256 1010 years.

H0
Some people say that the Earth was created 6000 to 8000 years ago, because thats what they
get when they add up all of the begats in the genealogy of the Old Testament. However,
many people agree that the days of creation are not literal 24-hour days but could be trans-
lated from the Hebrew as billion-year eras. You decide but be aware that scientists reject
anything less that about 10 billion years for the age of the universe and 4 21 billion years for
the age of the Earth.
Cosmic microwave background radiation

The entire universe exists in a sea of background radiation. During the early days of creation,
a great deal of radiation was present. As the universe continues to expand and cool, this
radiation should still be present, although at a stretched wavelength due to the expansion.
The presence of this microwave radiation is unmistakable evidence of the Big Bang fireball
of creation. In 1955, astronomer George Gamow predicted background radiation of 5 K, which
was subsequently confirmed by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson at Bell Laboratories in New
Jersey USA in 1965. The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite measured the radiation
more accurately in 1989 to a wavelength of 1 mm, equating to a temperature of 2.3 K.
(See Photo 6.5, page 151.)

ACTIVITY 6.4 THE TEMPERATURE OF DEEP SPACE

In the early 1900s, German scientist Max Planck found that the peak wavelength of
black-body radiation was related to temperature by the formula: = 0.2 hc/kT where
h = Plancks constant = 6.63 1034 Js, k = Boltzmanns constant = 1.38 1023 J K1
(see Section 11.4), c = speed of light = 3 108 m s1, and T = Kelvin temperature.
Example
Calculate the peak wavelength of light emitted by the brightest visible star in the sky (Sirius)
with a temperature of 9000 K.
Solution
= 0.2 h c = 0.2 6.63 10

34 3 108
= 3.20 107 m = 320 nm
kT 1.38 10 9000
23
(a) Use the formula to confirm that the background temperature of outer space is 2.73 K,
given that the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite measured the cosmic
background radiation to have a wavelength of 1 mm. This provided dramatic evidence
in 1989 to support the prediction of the Big Bang theory.
(b) Show, by dimensional analysis (cancellation), that the unit for the right-hand side
of the equation is metres.
(c) A simplification of Plancks law is known as Weins law. Wein expressed it as
= 0.0029/T. Show that it is the same as the original formula.
(d) In 1992, COBE detected fluctuations in the background radiation, and this sent
tingles of excitement down astronomers backs. Why was this, and where does the
recombination of 300 000 years ago fit in? Off to the library.
Questions
1 The Leo cluster is 251 Mpc away. Prove that this is equal to a distance of
7.8 1024 m.
2 Hercules has a radial velocity of 0.035c. What is this in km/s?
3 The Bootes cluster is 457 Mpc away from us. Based on an average Hubble
constant of 75 km/s/Mpc, calculate the recession speed of Bootes.
4 If the Hubble constant was found to be 100 km/s/Mpc, what would the age of
the universe be?
5 Calculate the wavelength of maximum intensity of the red star Proxima Centauri,
which is 4.3 times the diameter of the Sun and has a temperature of 2870 K.
6 The StefanBoltzmann law can be used to calculate the power output (luminosity,
L) of a star based on its radius (R) and temperature (T): L = (7.125 107) R2 T4,
where L is in watts, R in metres and T in kelvins.
(a) Our star, the Sun, has a temperature of 5775 K and a radius of 1.39 106 km.
Calculate its luminosity.
(b) The star Rigel has a temperature three times that of the Sun, and a
luminosity 64 000 times that of the Sun (one very bright star). If the Suns
temperature is 5775 K, calculate Rigels radius.
7 Some stars are red and some are blue. Which are hotter? Why?
8 Comment critically: A star with a temperature of 0C will not give off any
radiation.
9 Does a star at 6000 K emit twice as much radiation as it does when it drops to
3000 K? Explain.
Astrophysics 139
6.2 H I S TO RY O F T H E U N I V E R S E
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper T. S. Eliot
The best picture we have at present suggests that the past, present and future of the universe
can be arranged into the five ages proposed by creative American astrophysicists Fred Adams
and Greg Laughlin. It starts with the Big Bang and ends up expanding forever like a
whimper, as poet T. S. Eliot put it. Like all scientific theories, it could be wrong, but it does
explain why the universe is like it is today. Many people opposed to these theories say You
cant re-create the Big Bang so how can it be scientific? However, the theory is consistent
with all known laws and principles of physics, and many parts of the theory can be tested
experimentally. It also offers testable predictions about what we should find as time goes by.
All that makes it scientific.
Admittedly, we cant tell what is happening beyond a certain distance (>10 billion light-
years away) because light has not had time to reach us. We call this the visible horizon. As
we get older this horizon will get further away. Maybe its where the wild things are.
The Primordial Era: t = 0 to 3 minutes

The very beginning
About 13 billion years ago, the universe was just a point in space with infinite density and
temperature. This was the beginning of time (t = 0) as we know it. We have no understand-
ing yet of what the universe was like inside this point. The four fundamental forces that we
know today (gravity, electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear) were rolled up into one super
force known as the Grand Unified Theory (GUT) force.
The Big Bang and inflation

An enormous explosion (the Big Bang) occurred at t = 0, and after 1043 s had elapsed the
universe began to expand and cool at a fantastic rate. Adjacent points in space rushed away
from each other at speeds greater than that of light, and the small dot (.) that was the
universe inflated about 1030 times all within a period of about 1035 s (see Figure 6.2).
inflationary Figure 6.2

epoch The expansion of the universe
1040
throughout time. Note the
1030
Distance to visible horizon (m)
exponential scale (powers

1020 of 10) on the x-axis.
1010
100
10-10
NEW Now
10-20
10-30
10-40
10-50
10-60
10-45 10-35 10-25 10-15 10-5 105 10-15

Time since the Big Bang (seconds)

In this very short time the temperature fell from 1032 K to 1020 K. Most of the energy of
the universe at the time of inflation was in the form of electromagnetic radiation because it
was like a blast furnace too hot for atoms and molecules. It was too hot for even protons
and neutrons. During this period the GUT forces began to decouple (separate out) into the
four fundamental forces (Table 6.2). Chapter 29 deals with these forces in more detail.
Ta b l e 6 . 2
FUNDAMENTAL TIME OF STRENGTH TEMPERATURE PARTICLE THAT
FORCE SEPARATION (S) (K) CARRIES THE FORCE
Gravitation 1043 1038 1032 graviton
Strong nuclear 1035 100 1027 gluon
Weak nuclear 1012 1013 1015 W and Z
Electromagnetic 1012 102 1015 photon
Figure 6.3 shows the decoupling graphically.
Figure 6.3
Decoupling of the GUT forces gravitational
into the four forces we

know today.
weak nuclear
GUT electromagnetic
strong nuclear
today
10-50 10-40 10-30 10-20 10-10 100 1010 1020

Age of the universe (seconds)
Baryogenesis
The universe was now a vast sea of radiation with a small mixture of quarks and other parti-
cles called gluons which acted between these quarks. This froth of quarks and gluons is
During inflation the universe known as the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Quarks consist of both ordinary matter and anti-
expanded at a rate faster than matter, with a slight excess of the former. For every 30 million antimatter quarks there were
the speed of light. How can this
30 million and one quarks made of matter. As the universe cooled, the matter and antimatter
be, if nothing can go faster than
quarks annihilated each other, leaving the excess fraction of matter quarks to survive. This
light? The answer is that it is
process is called baryogenesis (Greek baros = weight, genesis = origin); the general name
space that is expanding without
any objects moving. In the Big
given to particles that form matter is baryons.
Bang model the distance Physicists have speculated that in other universes there must be an equivalent excess of
between galaxies increases, but antiquarks so that the total amount of matter and antimatter are equal, as stipulated by the
the galaxies dont move. Since conservation law. During this period any quarks that came together were unable to combine
nothing is moving, there is no to form larger particles (protons and neutrons) as the high-energy gamma rays blasted them
violation of the restriction that apart. By the time the universe was 1012 s old the temperature was down to 1015 K and the
nothing can move faster than GUT forces had completely decoupled. It was now sufficiently cool for all quarks to condense
light. Hence, it is quite possible (in groups of three) to form hadrons (such as protons and neutrons). Because there was an
that the distance between two excess of quarks over antiquarks, more protons and neutrons formed than antiprotons and
objects is so great that the antineutrons. These particles and antiparticles continued to annihilate each other, but as the
distance between them expands temperature dropped fewer and fewer particles and their antiparticles were created, which just
faster than the speed of light.
left an excess of protons and neutrons.
These basic building blocks of matter, synthesised in the first microsecond of the
universes history, live not only to the present time, some ten billion years later, but will
endure for another 1032 years give or take a few years. You are made up of quarks from the
Big Bang.
Astrophysics 141
N u cl e o s y n t h e s i s N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
The next major achievement of the early universe was the production of small compound The figure below shows the
nuclei. About one second after the Big Bang, when the temperature had dropped to 10 billion relative positions of some ink
kelvin, the universe was cool enough to allow the fusing of protons and neutrons to syn- dots on the surface of a balloon
4 as it is inflated. If you keep dot
thesise (Greek syn = together, tithenai = to place) light atomic nuclei, mainly helium ( 2 He)
d directly in front of you, all the
with some traces of deuterium ( 21 H), and lithium ( 73 Li). This nucleosynthesis continued for other dots appear to be moving
about three minutes until the temperature of the ever-expanding universe dropped to a mere away from d as the balloon gets
1 billion kelvin. Nuclear reactions abruptly stopped and nucleosynthesis thus came to an end. bigger. Imagine diagram II shows
Although huge amounts of helium and the other light nuclei were produced, about 75% of the the positions 1 second after
observable mass of the universe remained as hydrogen nuclei (protons, 11 H). This was a busy diagram I.
A Calculate the speed of dots
three minutes.
e, f and g by measuring
the distances with a ruler.
The Stelliferous Era: t = 3 minutes to 10 14 years Plot a graph of speed (y-axis)
versus distance from d. Relate
Stelliferous comes from the Latin and means star-producing (stella = star, fero = bring this graph to Hubbles law.
forth or produce). We are in the middle of this era right now. Our Sun ignited some 4.5 billion B Imagine we are object d in
years ago (4.5 109 years) and has enough hydrogen to last another 6 billion years. We are the Milky Way galaxy and
all children of the stars because ten billion years ago every atom in our bodies was once near object g is the Hydra galaxy.
the centre of a star. If Hydra is moving at a speed
Once the explosive first three minutes ended, the universe settled into a much calmer of 60 500 km s1, calculate
the time elapsed between
phase. For the next 300 000 years, the universe consisted of a sea of hydrogen and helium
diagrams I and II.
nuclei, photons, free electrons and the mysterious dark matter. The universe kept expanding
and cooling but the intense radiation caused the disintegration of any atoms. After further II
expansion and cooling, this period eventually ended when the sea of photons was not ener-
getic enough to keep electrons from joining with nuclei to form atoms.
a
The universe had cooled down to about 3000 K by now. Atoms mostly hydrogen and
some helium began forming. The photons no longer had much to do, so they travelled
unhindered through space. It was as if the universe became transparent to photons. Gravity
started pulling the hydrogen and helium together and this collapse produced the vast aggre- I
b
gations of gas and other matter we now call galaxies. Scattered within these galaxies were
a
sub-condensations of gas. As this gas continued to condense inwards, magnetic fields pro-
vided a pressure acting outwards which slowed the collapse. Enormous heat was generated as
c
b
gravitational energy was transferred to heat energy and this caused them to glow with c
infrared radiation. As the swirling and rotating gases collapsed, the speed of rotation
increased (we see this principle stated in the law of conservation of angular momentum; that
d
d
is, as the radius decreases, the speed increases). Jets of material blew outwards and stopped
any more material condensing on the newly created star (the protostar) and this outflow
e
separated the young solar system from its parental core.

e
f
These protostars give off huge amount of heat, but not all ignite to become true visible
stars. Depending on their mass, they can go one of several ways: The low-mass protostars
g
(<0.08 solar masses) will fail to ignite and just glow dull red. These failed stars are called
f
brown dwarfs and lock up enormous amounts of hydrogen for billions of years. Ones that
are more than 8% of the mass of our Sun (>0.08 solar masses) will sustain nuclear reactions.
Low-mass stars (0.080.5 solar masses) fuse hydrogen into helium but at a fairly slow
g
rate. These are called red dwarfs and will last for an extraordinarily long time possibly a
trillion (1012) years.
Stars with masses in the range from 0.5 to 8 solar masses will burn like our Sun. The core
temperature of our Sun is currently about 16 million K, but when the hydrogen becomes
depleted in its centre the core will lack an energy source and will cool. There will not
be enough heat to support its overlying bulk. The core will shrink to become a white dwarf
but the outer layers will evaporate as a massive solar wind of energetic particles and
become a red giant. The central core will continue to shrink and heat up, and when it reaches

100 million K a new series of nuclear reactions will occur. Helium will fuse into carbon and
release more energy. The core of the giant will become an enormous helium bomb and for a
The shortest day in our solar time will produce more energy than all the stars in the universe combined. The resulting
system has just been discovered helium flash will be followed by a quiet burning for about 100 million years.
by NASA. The asteroid 1998KY26 Stars that are superheavy (>8 solar masses) will burn up their central stores of hydrogen
(about 30 m across) spins at
in about 10 million years (recall that lighter ones like our Sun will last for about 10 billion
1 revolution every 10.7 second.
years from ignition). The helium quickly fuses into carbon and the star begins to collapse
That means its day is 0.09
seconds long. KY26 consists
under its own weight. The core reaches 100 billion K and huge numbers of neutrinos are
of 4 tonnes of water which produced, leaking away energy and allowing the collapse to accelerate. Temperatures rise
must be frozen otherwise it and carbon fuses into magnesium, and by a complex maze of nuclear reactions neon, oxygen,
would fly apart. silicon, sulfur and iron form. Once the chain reaches iron no further fusion is possible as iron
is so stable. A star with an iron core is doomed as it cannot squeeze any more energy out by
fusion. The star cannot support itself any longer. In a single second the star collapses,
compressing the central regions to a density of 1014 g cm3 (and that is dense water is
only 1 g cm3). If Earth were this dense it would be about 400 m in diameter. Electrons and
protons are squashed up to form neutrons and the whole star resembles one big nucleus.
A shock wave ensues and the outer layers are fused into heavy elements such as gold, lead
and uranium and blown away, leaving a dense core of neutrons behind. This explosion is a
supernova and the dense core of neutrons remaining becomes a neutron star. For some very
massive stars (850 solar masses), the neutron cores cannot support their own weight and
collapse to become a black hole. Black holes are strange beasts, with gravitational fields so
strong that light itself cannot escape. They are so fascinating that we have devoted a whole
section to them later on. (See section 6.9.) The matter produced by the supernova is thrown
back into the interstellar medium, where it eventually condenses to form stars like our own
Sun and its planets like our Earth. The heavy elements on Earth (e.g. uranium) originated in
a supernova.
Superheavy stars of more than 100 solar masses are likely to blow themselves apart
instantly so that nothing is left.
Many stars will continue to be born, but after a few trillion years even the hardiest
of stars will have died and returned much of their mass back to the interstellar medium. The
universe will all of a sudden be a dark place.
The Degenerate Era: t = 10 15 to 10 39 years

At the beginning of the Degenerate Era, a thousand trillion years will have elapsed since the
Big Bang. The universe will be a pretty boring place with just the remnants of the Stelliferous
Era scattered all over the place. There will be brown, red and white dwarfs, neutron stars and
black holes. Galaxies will drift around but the mutual force of attraction will cause them to
combine and form mega-galaxies. Our Milky Way will combine with the Andromeda galaxy
to form a sort of thick-shake. However, stellar collisions will be rare because space is so
big (remember?). About once every billion years two stars will collide, and this will be a
big event in the Degenerate Era. The most boring will be two brown dwarfs in collision.
They wont light up but will just form some planets which are likely to have the conditions
necessary to support life. White dwarf collisions will be more spectacular. Their combined
mass will enable them to ignite and burn for a million years before depleting their nuclear
fuel and turning off. Black holes will grow larger and more massive throughout this era as
they capture stars and gas that have come too close.
P r o t o n d e c ay
Up until the 1980s it was thought that protons were infinitely stable. Now we know that
protons do not last forever; in fact they last for only about 1037 years. In the final stages of
the Degenerate Era protons will start to decay. In a white dwarf for instance, the protons
decay into pions and positrons; the pions decay into high-energy gamma rays and the
Astrophysics 143
positrons pair up with stray electrons to form more gamma rays. The net result is that the
white dwarf slowly evaporates and finally nothing is left. Kaput! Neutron stars suffer the same
fate. Neutrons decay into protons, electrons and antineutrinos, which all end up as gamma
radiation. By the end of the era, 1040 years will have passed since the Big Bang. All that will
remain will be a vast sea of radiation, mostly photons and neutrinos with a smaller admixture
of electrons and positrons. And Black Holes millions of big Black Holes.
The Black Hole Era: t = 10 40 to 10 100 years

Now the black holes reign supreme. The universe has reached a volume of 10100 cubic metres
and is inhabited by 1046 black holes in an otherwise almost empty universe (see Figure 6.4).
These holes grew larger and larger during the previous two eras sweeping up everything in
sight. But black holes radiate energy, and slowly very slowly evaporate. Their last
moments are dramatic. After shedding 95% of their mass through evaporation, their surface
will be as hot as our Sun. During the last second the black hole explodes, giving off 1022 J in
gamma-ray energy and a blast of electrons, positrons, protons, antiprotons and other exotic
particles such as the dark matter WIMPS. The protons and antiprotons annihilate themselves
immediately to produce more gamma photons. By 10100 years the black holes have all evapor-
ated and a final enveloping night moves in. This is getting creepy!
Era: Primordial Stellar Degenerate Black Hole Dark
10120
Figure 6.4
open Changes to the radius of
10100 the observed universe over
flat the five eras. Note the
Radius of the universe (metres)
1080 exponential scales.

1060
1040 inflation
1020
100
now
10-20
10-40
10-60
10-60 10-50 10-4010-30 10-20 10-10 100 1010 1020 1030 1040 1050 1060 1070 1080 1090 10100 10110 10120
Age of the universe (years)
The Dark Era: t = 10 100 years to eternity

In this cold and distant future, activity in the universe has almost stopped. Energy levels are
low and the expanses of time and space are almost beyond belief. Much depends on whether A marathon runner starts off at
the universe will continue to expand at the same rate (an open universe the most the same time as a radar signal
favoured model) or slow down to an almost negligible expansion (a flat universe). The third leaves the earth for Jupiter. He
alternative the closed universe now seems most unlikely, as there appears to be stops when the echo is received
back on Earth. How many
insufficient mass in the universe to stop expansion and begin a contraction phase. (See Figure
kilometres does he run?
6.5.) This possibility has the universe expanding to a maximum volume in about 20 billion
years and then contracting back to a point in another 20 billion years the Big Crunch. Not
much is mentioned of the Big Crunch these days. If it does happen, there is speculation that
another Big Bang could ensue and another cycle begins. Physicists say that if this happens,
the cycles will get bigger and bigger as each one occurs. Some say that maybe there was
a cycle before the present one. They say that if there was there could have been up to 100
previous cycles (but no more). They are adamant that there was a definite start to the cycles
if they occurred that is, the universe hasnt been going for an infinite time.
At the start of the Dark Era the volume of the universe will be 10182 m3 if the flat
scenario happens or 10272 m3 if it is open. Either way, space will be occupied by about one
electron and positron in every 10192 m3 or so. With no protons left, electrons cannot form

Figure 6.5 50 open
(billion light years

Three models of the future of
the universe. The open model 40
Radius
is the current favourite.
30 flat
20
closed
10
previous present future
cycles cycle cycles
now
0 25 50 75 100 125 150

Time since Big Bang (billion years)
normal atoms. Instead they form positronium atoms in which the electron and positron
spiral around each other in orbits trillions of light-years across. By the time 10145 years have
passed since the Big Bang, even these atoms will have decayed. The temperature is
now exceedingly low just billionths of a degree above absolute zero. The photons of light
that inhabit the universe are so lacking in energy that their wavelength is 1041 light-years
bigger than the observable universe today. The universe has run down and now heads for
heat death but never quite dies; it hangs on in eternal death throes. But wait bizarre
things could happen. Physicists say that processes could happen where new child universes
are created spontaneously within our universe and then undergo inflation just like ours did
at the Big Bang. Who knows?
Questions
10 By what factor did the universe expand in the inflation phase?
11 What was the cause of the universe cooling?
12 Comment critically: The Big Crunch is the favoured theory of the future of the
universe.
13 Discuss the longevity of protons.
14 Discuss critically: All stars containing hydrogen will undergo fusion at a rate
dependent on their mass.
15 Inward and outward forces maintain a star in a state of equilibrium. Explain
what happens to the forces as a star turns into (a) a brown dwarf; (b) a white
dwarf; (c) a neutron star; (d) a black hole.
Lets now look at our own Solar System in more detail.
K E P L E R S L AW S 6.3
German astronomer Johannes Kepler (15711630) spent years working on data provided by
Figure 6.6 Tycho Brahe, his predecessor as Imperial Mathematician to Emperor Rudolph in Prague.
Planets move in elliptical orbits,
with varying speeds around the
However, in 1614, Galileo described Keplers writing as so obscure that apparently the author
Sun. The planet takes the same did not know what he was talking about. In 1618 Kepler published the first two of his three
time to move from L to M as it laws and was hailed as a hero by those who wanted to do away with the old geocentric
does from R to S. The shaded areas
A and B are equal (Keplers law).
(Earth-centred) universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy. Keplers laws were these:
First law: the law of orbits All planets move in elliptical paths, the Sun being at
R planet one focus.
M aphelion
perihelion Second law: the law of areas The speed of a planet along this path is not uniform, but
A B
Sun L varies with its distance from the Sun in such a way that a line drawn from the planet to the
S Sun would sweep out equal areas in equal times; or, in other words, the area swept out in a
given time by the radius vector is always constant (Figure 6.6).
Astrophysics 145
Both these laws were in contradiction to conventional wisdom of the time. The view of
the universe being taught in universities in the 1500s and early 1600s was based on the ideas
of Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Aristotle and Plato, who declared that the Earth was at the
centre of the universe and the path of planets must be circular and the speed uniform. The
second-century Arab astronomer Ptolemy produced a comprehensive theory of planetary
motion based on these ideas (the Ptolemaic theory), which held sway for 1400 years. In fact,
all Christian astronomers held this view, using a literal interpretation of the Bible for support
(Joshua commanded the Sun to stand still, not the Earth). As a result, the Catholic Church
in 1616 put Copernicuss works on the forbidden list. Galileo and Tycho refused to accept
elliptical motion, preferring to believe in Copernicuss Sun-centred model but with uniform
circular orbits. Copernicus too said that his mind shuddered at the idea of elliptical orbits.
Kepler had earlier agreed, saying that non-circular orbits were a cartful of dung, but was
eventually won over by the beauty and simplicity of elliptical orbits. Kepler was truly the first
astrophysicist.
Third law: the harmonic law or the law of periods In 1619, a more remarkable
hypothesis followed. Galileo couldnt cope with this one either. The law stated:
For orbiting satellites or planets of any system, the ratio of the radius of orbit cubed,
r3, to period squared, T2, is constant for all satellites of that system. (Table 6.3)
r 3 = constant, or r a3 = r b3
T2 T a2 T b2
The table below shows the r3/T2 values for the Earth and its neighbouring planets. Note how
constant the ratio is (average = 3.36 1018 m3/s2).
Ta b l e 6 . 3
PLANET AVERAGE RADIUS PERIOD OF r 3/ T 2
OF ORBIT (m) REVOLUTION (s) (m 3 /s 2 )
Mercury 5.97 1010 7.60 106 3.68 1018
Venus 1.08 1011 1.94 107 3.35 1018
Earth 1.49 1011 3.16 107 3.31 1018
Mars 2.28 1011 5.94 107 3.35 1018
Jupiter 7.78 1011 3.74 108 3.36 1018
Saturn 1.43 1012 9.30 108 3.38 1018
Example 1
Triton and Nereid are the two moons of Neptune. Triton is 353 000 km from Neptune and has N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
a period of 5.87 Earth days. Nereid is 5 560 000 km from Neptune and its period is 359.9 Earth
Another new planet outside our
days. Find out if these data are consistent with Keplers third law. Neptune has a radius of solar system has recently been
24 750 km. discovered. It lies within the
Solution Oort Cloud with an orbital radius
of 0.4 ly. It has a mass 1.5 to
6 times of Jupiter and a period
r 3 = (353 000 + 24 750) 3 = 1.56 10 15. of 6 million years. How does it
For Triton:
T2 5.87 2 r3/T 2 ratio compare to that of
r 3 = (5 560 000 + 24 750) 3 = 1.34 10 15. our solar system?
For Nereid:
T2 359.9 2
Conclusion: values are close Keplers Law confirmed.

Example 2
Consider a satellite launched from Earth to have a geosynchronous orbit (period = 1 day)
around the Earth. Knowing that the natural satellite of Earth (the Moon) has a period of
28 days and an orbiting radius of 3.8 108 m, calculate the desired radius for the artificial
satellite so that it has a period of 1 day.
Solution
rm3 = r s3
T m2 T s2
r s3 = r m T s = (3.8 10 ) 1 = 7.0 10 22
3 2 8 3 2
Tm2 28 2
r s = 4.1 10 7 m (41 000 km)
Questions
16 The average radius of the orbit of Uranus is 2.87 1012 m. Use the average value
for r 3/T 2 from Table 6.3 to calculate the period of Uranus in (a) seconds;
(b) years.
17 Neptune takes 164.8 y to orbit the Sun. Use the average value of r 3/T 2 from
Table 6.3 to find the average radius of its orbit.
18 It was once thought that the planet Vulcan existed between Mercury and the
Sun. What would its period have been if it was at a mean radius of 40 million km
from the Sun?
A c t i v i t y 6 . 5 FA C T S A N D F I G U R E S
Use a dictionary or encyclopaedia to answer the following:
1 Planet means wanderer but what exactly was meant by wandering and what is
retrograde motion?
2 Galaxy comes from the Greek galas meaning milk. What has our galaxy got to
do with milk?
3 What is the difference between a pulsar and a quasar? Name one of each and
state their distance from Earth.
4 Locate r and T values for Pluto and determine its r 3 /T 2 value as in Table 6.3.
Activity 6.6 COMPETING THEORIES

Select one of the following topics for library research and write a short (one page) response.
The Ptolemaic system used circular motion but still allowed planets to move in
non-circular orbits. Show how Ptolemy used epicycles to contrive his system.
Why was Copernicus so reluctant to publish his theory but finally relented on
his deathbed? What was he scared of?
Why was the Church so annoyed with Galileo? Describe how he was treated.
Was he better off than fellow astronomer Bruno in the hands of the
Inquisition?
Astrophysics 147
6.4 N E W TO N S L AW O F G R AV I TAT I O N
Kepler had shown that the Sun was the centre of our solar system but the question remained:
what was the nature of the force that the Sun exerted? Kepler believed that the Sun moved
the planets by sending out rays like wheel-spokes, which carried the planets around.
In 1666, Newton united the ideas of Copernicus and Kepler with the laws of falling Newton said rationem vero
bodies, developed by Galileo. Newton provided a new worldview, based on a new physics, harum Gravitatis propietartum
uniting heaven and Earth in one mathematical structure. A revolution in thought had begun. ex phenomenis nondrum potui
Newton used the word gravity to describe the force between the Sun and the planets. decucere (But I have not been
able to discover the reason for
It came from the Latin gravitas, meaning weight. In his most famous work, Philosophiae
this property of gravitation
Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in Latin in 1687, he wrote: I deduced that the
from the phenomena).
forces which keep the planets in their orbs must vary reciprocally as the squares of their What did he mean?
distances from the centres about which they revolve and in direct proportion to their masses.
In the form of an equation, this becomes:
F g = Gm 12m 2 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
d Two spherical drops of mercury
are resting on a frictionless
where Fg is the force of gravitational attraction, m1 and m2 are the masses of the attracting surface. The only force between
objects, d is the distance between the objects centres and G is a proportionality constant them is that of gravitation.
called the universal gravitational constant or more commonly known by astrophysicists as What would you need to know
Big G to distinguish it from little g the acceleration due to gravity. In SI units, G has the to be able to calculate how
much time it would take for
value 6.67 1011 N m2 kg2. (See Figure 6.7.)
them to touch?
Figure 6.7 d
gravitational
force
m1 Gm1m2 m2
F= Hg Hg
d2
Example
Determine the force of attraction between the Earth (mass = 5.98 1024 kg) and the Moon
(mass of the Moon is 7.35 1022 kg), given that the EarthMoon distance is 3.8 108 m.
P H Y S I C S U P DAT E
Solution
In 1998, the International Panel
on Physical Constants deemed
F g = Gm 12m 2 = 6.67 10 11 7.35 5.98
10 22 10 24 = 2.07 10 20 N G to be 6.672 59 0.008
d (3.8 10 8) 2 1011 N m2 kg2.
Questions
19 Calculate the force between the Sun (m = 2.0 1030 kg) and the Earth
(m = 5.98 1024 kg) assuming they are about 1.5 108 km apart.
20 Black holes are super-massive collapsed stars. The closest anything can get to
one and still escape the gravitational force is called the event horizon.
Calculate the force acting on a 15 t spacecraft at the event horizon of 30 km
from a black hole that has a mass equal to 10 times that of the Sun.
Mass of Sun = 2 1030 kg; 1 t = 1000 kg.

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N 6.5
The two main types of periodic motion in space are:
Figure 6.8
An ellipse is an angled segment elliptical motion planets about the Sun and some artificial satellites
through a cone. circular motion moons about their planets and some artificial satellites.
Elliptical motion
An ellipse is produced if you make a sloping cut through a conical pyramid (Figure 6.8).
A planet of mass m moves in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. The Sun, of mass M, is at
one focus F of the ellipse (Figure 6.9(a)). The other, or empty focus is F. The point closest
to the Sun is called the perihelion and the opposite point farthest from the Sun is called the
aphelion. When referring to an elliptical orbit in general, these points are called the perigee
and apogee respectively. The words come from the Greek peri meaning around; apo meaning
away; helios meaning Sun. The suffix gee is derived from the Greek geo, the Earth. You
should be able to deduce where words like perimeter, geometry and apology come from.
The eccentricity is a measure of how much out-of-round the ellipse is (Figure 6.9(b)).
The eccentricity, e, is the difference between the distance from focal point to aphelion, Fa,
and focal point to perihelion, Fp, divided by the total perihelion to aphelion distance,
F F
ap: e = a p . An eccentricity of zero means the ellipse is circular. At perihelion, the Earth
ap
is 147 097 800 km from the Sun; at aphelion it is 152 098 200 km, a difference of 5 million
km. The eccentricity of the Earths orbit about the Sun is 0.0167, which means it is almost
circular. In a circle of diameter 100 cm, this difference corresponds to the centre being 0.8 cm
off-centre. Not much! In the drawings below, the shape of the ellipse has been distorted for
clarity. It should look more like a circle.
Figure 6.9 (a) (b) e=0

0.5
Planets move in elliptical orbits.
orbiting body
m 0.8
r 0.9
M M
perihelion p a aphelion
F F'
Circular motion
Planets may have elliptical orbits about the Sun, but satellites that orbit the planets mostly
have circular paths.
The natural satellite of the Earth (the Moon) has a circular path.
Most artificial Earth-orbiting satellites have circular paths, thus keeping their speed
constant.
The Earth rotates on its own axis, so a point on its surface travels in a circular path too.
In order to understand surface and satellite motion, it is necessary to revise the physics of
circular motion.
Figure 6.10 (a) (b) (c)

(a) Planets travel around the Sun planet Earth
in elliptical orbits. (b) The moon
and most artificial satellites have Sun
circular orbits about the Earth.
(c) Points on the Earths surface
Moon
have circular paths as the Earth
turns on its own axis.
Astrophysics 149
Centripetal acceleration N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
In the previous chapter it was shown that objects travelling in circular orbits at constant
Two balls are rolled around the
speed had an acceleration directed toward the centre of the circular path. This acceleration inside surface and outside
was called centripetal acceleration: surface of a pipe whose
2 diameter is 3 times the diameter
ac = v of the balls.
r How many times will the outside
ball turn to complete one
C e n t r i p e t a l f o rc e rotation of the pipe compared
Because of this centripetal acceleration, an object of mass m experiences a centripetal force with the inside one?
Fc also directed toward the centre of the circular path:
2 pipe
F c = ma c = mv
r
Pe r i o d o f c i rc u l a r m o t i o n A B
If the object travels at uniform speed v in a circle of radius r, the distance travelled during
one full revolution s = 2r. The time taken to complete one full revolution (the period, T) is:
T = s = 2r or v = 2r
v v T
v2 42r 42rm
Since ac = , we obtain ac = 2 and Fc = .
r T T2
Example
The radius of the Earth at the equator is 6.4 106 m and its mass is 6.0 1024 kg. Calculate
(a) the centripetal acceleration of a point at the equator; (b) the centripetal force acting on
this point; (c) the linear velocity of this point.
Solution
T = 24 hours = 86 400 s
42r 42 6.4 106
(a) ac = 2 = = 0.034 m s2.
T 86 4002
(b) Fc = mac = 6.0 1024 0.034 = 2.04 1023 N.
2r 2 6.4 106
(c) v = = = 465 m s1.
T 86 400
Questions
21 A 750 kg spacecraft is in a circular orbit of radius 700 km and is travelling at
6500 m s1. Calculate (a) the centripetal acceleration; (b) the centripetal force;
(c) the period.
22 A person living on the equator of the Earth makes one complete revolution
around the Earths axis in 24 hours. For a 65 kg person, find (a) their centripetal
acceleration; (b) the centripetal force; (c) the linear velocity. The radius of the
Earth is 6.4 106 m.
6.6 S AT E L L I T E S
Satellite means neighbour or companion. Town planners talk about satellite cities. To an
astrophysicist, satellites can either be natural (moons) or artificial (e.g. communications
satellites). Artificial satellites are generally used for:
science research, weather, mapping
industry agriculture, mining
communications radio, TV, phone and computer networks; position coordinates
military and political defence planning, spying.

Photo 6.2
The Hubble telescope. Examples of satellites
A b i g n e w ey e i n t h e s k y
A new era in astronomy began in 1990 when the Hubble space telescope went into orbit
around the Earth (see Photo 6.2). The telescope initially had blurred vision due to a faulty
main mirror and also had problems with shaking solar panels. These were eventually fixed in
1993 and it now sends back a rich harvest of observations including compelling clues to the
existence of some super-heavy massive black holes and amazing close-ups of the Orion
nebula, where new stars are being born from clouds of gas. Hubble also beamed back details
of a new type of cosmic object a gigantic concentration of stars produced by two collid-
ing galaxies 200 million light years away called the Starburst galaxy. Probably the most
spectacular Hubble image shows the famous Einstein cross (see Photo 6.3). As light from a
quasar 8000 million light years away grazes a galaxy at only 400 million light years away, it
is bent in new directions. From Earth we see four images of the distant quasar, with the fore-
ground galaxy in the middle. This effect, called gravitational lensing, was predicted by Albert
Photo 6.3 Einstein 70 years ago and is a remarkable confirmation of his theory of gravity.
Einsteins Cross. The Hubble space telescope has a mass of 11 t and is in a circular Earth orbit 610 km
above the surface. With its unrivalled ability to measure cosmic distances, it could help to
answer one of the biggest questions of all: how big and how old is the universe? If Hubble
could see 15 billion light years away then it would see the moment of creation.
ERS-2 This satellite was launched in April 1995 after the huge success of ERS-1 (see
Photo 6.4). CSIRO placed a temperature sensor aboard to gather data about global warming.
The sensor also measures sunlight reflected from the ground, providing better estimates of
bushfire risk and crop yields.
Scientists have a new tool to search for the fossil record of the Big Bang and uncover
clues about the evolution of the universe. Launched in 1999, NASAs Far Ultraviolet
Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) observes nearby planets and the farthest reaches of the
universe to provide a detailed picture of the immense structure of our own Milky Way galaxy.
Photo 6.4 The FUSE missions primary scientific focus is the study of hydrogen and deuterium ( 21 H), which
The ERS-1 satellite. were created shortly after the Big Bang. With this information, astronomers in effect will be
able to look back in time at the infant universe.
By examining these earliest relics of the birth of the universe, astronomers hope to gain
a better understanding of the processes that led to the formation and evolution of stars,
including our solar system. Ultimately, scientists hope data from FUSE will allow them to make
a huge leap of understanding about how the primordial elements were created and have been
distributed since the beginning of time.
The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft has been engaged in some of the most
exciting work ever done in the study of the universe. It has peered back in time some 10 billion
years, very nearly the point of creation. Launched in 1989 and managed by NASAs Goddard Space
Flight Center, COBE has uncovered landmark evidence to support the Big Bang theory of an
expanding universe. Science researchers continue to analyse data received from the spacecraft.
Photo 6.5
NASAs Cosmic Background Explorer
A c t i v i t y 6 . 7 U P DAT E O N S AT E L L I T E P R O G R A M S
(COBE). What a success! The problem in writing about satellite programs in textbooks like this is that progress is
so rapid and developments unfolding so fast that information dates very quickly. The
only way to keep up is with newspaper and magazine articles or by direct communication
with the satellite agencies themselves. Alternatively, you could always see what answers
you can get on the Internet (start with NASAs Home Page on the Worldwide Web or join
some of the Astronomy newsgroups).
Using the Internet, try to get an update on one of the following programs:
CSIROs involvement in ERS-2 and when its program is likely to finish.
Cape York space port will it ever launch a satellite?
How does the Global positioning system (GPS) work?
Sailors often have an EPIRB on their boats. What is it and how does it work?
Astrophysics 151
Satellite motion Figure 6.11
For any object to orbit the Earth, it must have sufficient velocity to overcome the Earths tall
A
gravitational pull. Figure 6.11 shows the path of four objects projected horizontally from a tower
high tower. Path A would happen if gravity did not act; Path B if the speed was low; Path C
if it was higher than B but still too slow; and Path D if the speed was just right.
In a circular orbit, a satellite always travels at the same speed and stays the same B
distance from Earth. The earliest measurement of the Moons period shows that it hasnt
changed over the past few thousand years all weve been able to do is measure it more C
accurately. It is known to be 27.321 661 days.
The right speed for a satellite is such that the centripetal force needed to keep it in a D
circular path exactly equals the force of gravity or its weight. This velocity is called its critical
velocity (vcrit)
Centripetal force = satellites weight

Fc = mg
mv crit2 = mg
r N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
v crit = gr
A simple formula for calculating
the distance to the horizon is:
If the velocity is less than critical the satellite will fall back towards Earth. If it is more
miles to horizon =
than critical it will rise to a bigger orbit. Note that the value of the critical velocity is inde-
pendent of mass. It just depends on the radius of the orbit and the acceleration due to gravity eyeheight in feet 1.5 .
(ag or g) at that radius. The value of g is not 9.8 m s2 it is a lower value further away from Show that this formula can be
the Earth. converted to:

Example kilometres = eyeheight in cm .
8
Calculate (a) the gravitational force; (b) the critical velocity; (c) the period of the orbit
of a 5000 kg satellite moving uniformly in a circular path 400 km above the Earth. The radius
of the Earth = 6.38 106 m.
Solution
(a) ms = 5000 kg; me = 5.98 1024 kg. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
How far would you have to travel
Radius of orbit, d = 400 103 m + 6.38 106 m = 6.78 10 6 m
horizontally out from the Earth
F = Gm12m2 = 6.67 10 5000 6 5.98
11 1024 = 43 385 N for your altitude to be 1 km?
d (6.78 10 ) 2
how far?
(b) The force of attraction (43 385 N) equals the centripetal force.
1 km
Using the centripetal force law:
2 r 43 385 6.78 10 6
F c = mv ; v 2= F c = = 5.88 10 7
r m 5000 Earth
v = 5.88 107 = 7670 m s 1
T = 2r = 2 6.78 10 = 5554 s (1.54 hours)

6
(c) v 7670
Escape velocity
If you fire an arrow upward, usually it will slow, stop momentarily, and return to Earth. There
is, however, a certain initial speed that will cause it to move upward and escape the Earths
pull. This is called its escape velocity and for Earth it is 11.2 km/s. Physicists have derived
a formula:

v esc = 2Gm
In 1971 Apollo 15 astronauts r
David Scott and James Irwin
drove the 4WD lunar vehicle where m is the mass of the planet or moon and r is the radius.
around for 30 km on the Moon.
Would they have used as much Example
fuel as on Earth? Verify the escape velocity for the Earth as 11.2 km s1. Ignore the effects of air drag and
Earths rotation. G = 6.67 1011 N m2 kg2.
Solution
During a lunar eclipse, the
shadow of the Moon on the Earth v= 2Gm = 2 6.67 10 11 5.98 10 24
consists of a black region r 6.37 10 6
100 km wide which travels at = 1.12 10 4 m s 1 (= 11.2 km/s)
3000 km h1. Scientists and thrill
seekers try to stay in the
shadow zone as long as possible
to make observations.
Questions
What is the maximum time you Use the data supplied in Table 6.3 on page 146 where necessary.
could stay in the shadow zone if 23 Calculate (a) the force between the Earth and an artificial satellite of mass
you were in a plane that could 2500 kg, which is in a 6400 km orbit above the surface of the Earth;
travel at 1000 km h1? (b) its velocity; (c) its period.
24 A communications satellite is shifted from an orbit of one Earth radius above
the surface of the Earth to three Earth radii above the surface. What effect does
this have on the satellites (a) gravitational force; (b) velocity; (c) period?
25 Calculate (a) the minimum orbiting speed; (b) the period of the orbit of a
satellite moving uniformly in a circular path 1170 km above the Earth, where
g = 7.0 m s2. The radius of the Earth = 6.4 106 m.
26 Calculate the escape velocity from (a) the Moon; (b) Pluto; (c) Jupiter; (d) the Sun.
WEIGHT, GRAVITY AND CENTRIPETAL FORCE 6.7

The weight of a body is a measure of the force acting on it due to a nearby astronomical
object such as a planet. To us on Earth, the astronomical object is the Earth. Your true weight
(FW) is the product of mass and the free-fall acceleration at the surface of the planet (= mg).
For us, g = 9.8 m s2 or approximately 10 m s2. Your apparent weight may change depending
on whether the planet rotates or not.
Figure 6.12
A non-rotating planet.
FN = FW On a non-rotating planet
Fg In such a case (see Figure 6.12), the weight of an object, Fw, is equal to the force due to
gravity, Fg. The symbol g is called the acceleration due to gravity but is more correctly referred
to as free-fall acceleration. It is the net acceleration.
F g = Gm 12m 2 , which equals F w = mg

d
Example
A 1.00 kg block of wood is at rest on the surface of a non-rotating planet of mass
3.0 1024 kg and radius 3.4 106 m. Calculate (a) its weight; (b) acceleration due to gravity
FW = FN = Fg
(i.e. free-fall).
Astrophysics 153
Solution Figure 6.13

Gm1m2 6.67 1011 3.0 1024 1.00 A rotating planet.
(a) Fg = = = 17.3 N.
d2
(3.4 106)2
Fw 17.3 FN
(b) Fg = Fw = mg, so g = = = 17.3 m s2.
m 1.00
Fg FC
On a rotating planet
Consider an object resting on the surface of the Earth at the equator (see Figure 6.13). As in r
the non-rotating case, the object is acted on by the weight (FW, which equals Fg) causing the
Earth to exert an opposite normal reaction force (FN) back on the object. If the Earth was not
rotating, FN = FW and so the resultant force (the difference between the two) is zero; there is
no acceleration.
North
However, the Earth and all objects on its surface rotate. An object will undergo uniform pole
circular motion, which is to say the object is accelerating (centripetal acceleration ac). As it
is accelerating, there must be a resultant force this is the centripetal force (Fc) acting
towards the centre of the Earth. This means that FN must be smaller than FW, consistent with
Newtons second law.
FN = FW FC
FC = FW FN
Hence F N = F W F C
Apparent weight = weight centripetal force
The free-fall acceleration (g) is equal to the acceleration due to the gravitational force
(ag) minus the centripetal acceleration (ac): g = ag ac
Note: youll find that centripetal acceleration is very small (about 0.3%) compared with
free-fall acceleration and can be generally omitted without concern.
Note: for points not on the equator, the centripetal acceleration is not normal to the
surface but is normal to the Earths axis. It is not correct to use the formulas above as the
forces are no longer in line. For this reason, the symbol FN would be better replaced by FR,
the reaction force. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Example If the Earth stopped rotating,
A 1.00 kg brick rests on the surface of the Earth at the equator. Given that the radius of the how much would a 60 kg
Earth at the equator is 6.4 106 m and its mass is 6.0 1024 kg, calculate (a) the gravita- (590 N) person weigh? What
tional force on the brick; (b) the centripetal force on the brick; (c) the weight of the brick; would his bathroom scales read?
(d) acceleration due to gravity; (e) centripetal acceleration; (f) free-fall acceleration;
(g) centripetal acceleration as a percentage of free-fall acceleration.
Solution
T = 24 hours = 86 400 s, mo (mass of object) = 1 kg.
Gmemo 6.67 1011 5.98 1024 1.00
(a) Fg = = = 9.83 N.
r2
(6.38 106)2
= 4 6.4 102 1.00 = 0.0338 N.

42rmo 2 6
(b) Fc = 2
T 86 400
(c) FN = FW Fc = 9.83 N 0.0338 N = 9.80 N.
Fg 9.83
(d) Acceleration due to gravity, ag = m = = 9.83 m s2.
1.00
F 0.0338
(e) Centripetal acceleration, ac = c = = 0.0338 m s2.
m 1.00
(f) Free-fall or net acceleration, g = 9.83 0.0338 = 9.80 m s2 (or could use Fw = mg).
ac 100 0.0338 100
(g) g = = 0.3%.
9.80
Hence, as centripetal acceleration, ac, is so small, it is convenient to approximate the net
or free-fall acceleration, g, by the acceleration due to gravity, ag, and still call it g. This is
what we did in previous chapters.

Questions
27 A 5.00 kg rock is at rest on the surface of a non-rotating planet of mass
1.5 1024 kg and radius 2.4 106 m. Calculate (a) its weight; (b) acceleration
due to gravity (i.e. free-fall).
28 A 750 kg space probe rests on the surface of the Earth near the equator. Given that
the radius of the Earth at the equator is 6.4 106 m and its mass is 6.0 1024 kg,
calculate (a) the gravitational force on the vehicle; (b) the centripetal force on the
vehicle; (c) the weight of the vehicle at that point; (d) the mass of the vehicle.
T H E G R AV I TAT I O N A L F I E L D 6.8
All objects are pulled toward Earth by gravity. We could represent the force of gravity by
arrows as shown in Figure 6.14. The arrows are called its gravitational field. It is because
the Earth has mass that it has gravity, so any object with mass could have a gravitational
field as represented in Figure 6.15. The more massive an object is, the stronger its gravita-
tional field.
Figure 6.14
The gravitational field is downward,
perpendicular to the surface.
earth
Figure 6.15 Can the arrows point the other way? In other words, can we have antigravity a force
The shape of the gravitational field that pushes two objects apart? The answer for the moment is no. Unlike electrostatic and
surrounding Earth or any isolated magnetic forces (like charges repel, unlike attract), physicists have never observed a repul-
point mass.
sive gravitational force, only an attractive one. Einstein produced a comprehensive theory of
gravity in 1915 his general theory of relativity (see Chapter 30). In it, he argues that
gravitational force is different from forces like magnetism and electrostatics even though the
mathematical relationships are identical. He said that gravity is not so much something that
happens in space but is a distortion or a warp in space itself. His theory encompasses all of
Earth Newtons laws but takes them much further and because they have been confirmed by
independent research thousands of times, physicists accept his theories as being the best
current model for the forces in the universe. Einsteins theories wont be dealt with here but
you should have several books in the library on the topic. Special relativity is also covered
in Chapter 30.
Gravitational field strength

A gravitational field is a region of space where an object experiences a force due to its mass.
A measure of the strength of this field is given by the symbol g the same g you used in
acceleration due to gravity. When you think about it, the stronger the field, the faster the
acceleration (Newtons second law, F = ma = mg):
g = gravitational force = F
mass m
The Earth has a gravitational field and so does the Moon. Objects placed in the Earths
gravitational field experience a force of attraction given by:
F = Gm 12m 2 = mg
d
Astrophysics 155
Gme
Hence, the gravitational field strength of Earth, g = . N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
d2
Zero G is good for producing
6.67 1011 6 1024
Substituting in this formula gives: g = = 9.8 m s2. genetically engineered crops.
(6.4 106)2 Bacteria move more easily in
Hence, at the surface of the Earth, g = 9.8 m s2, but this value decreases following an space and it helps the pathogen
inverse square law. At two Earth radii from the centre of the Earth, g would be one-quarter of (bacteria) attach to the surface
9.8 m s2 (2.45 m s2) and at three Earth radii from the centre would be one-ninth of 9.8 m s2 of the plant and alter it. It is a
(1.1 m s2). Further values are shown in Table 6.4. good way to make soy sauce.
What are some other good uses
Ta b l e 6 . 4 for Zero G?
ACCELERATION DUE TO DISTANCE FROM EARTHS DISTANCE FROM EARTHS

GRAVITY (m s 2 ) SURFACE (km) CENTRE (km)
9.8 0 6 400
9.0 270 6 670
8.0 670 7 050
7.0 1 160 7 560
5.0 2 540 8 940
3.0 5 150 11 550
2.0 7 740 14 140
1.0 13 590 19 990
Example
Calculate the gravitational field strength in the region of a satellite orbiting 8000 km above
the Earths surface.
Solution
me = 6 1024 kg
d = radius of Earth + orbiting height = 6.4 106 m + 8000 103 m = 1.44 107 m
g = Gm2 e = 6.67 10 6 7 210 kg = 1.93 m s2

11 24
d (1.44 10 )
Questions
29 What is the gravitational field strength at a point whose distance from the
Earths surface is equal to three Earth radii?
30 At what altitude above the Earths surface must you go for the gravitational field
strength to be one-sixteenth the value on Earth?
31 Plot a graph of g versus distance from the Earths centre, using the data from
Table 6.4 above. Comment on the relationship. Plot a second graph to prove your
prediction.
6.9 BLACK HOLES

Figure 6.12
A black hole is a term used to describe a region of space that contains matter so dense that Trajectories about a black hole.
even light cannot escape its grip. It was coined by John Wheeler of Princeton University
(USA) in 1967. A black hole is thought to come about from the gravitational collapse of a
star. The first tentative identification of a black hole was announced in December 1972 in the trapped
binary-star X-ray source Cygnus X-1. The best black hole candidate at the moment is the cen-
eve nt h
tral star of the triple star system V404, which is 5000 light years (ly) from Earth in the con- curved
path
stellation Cygnus. In the case of our galaxy, the Milky Way, there appears to be a two million
or
solar mass black hole in the region of Sagittarius A. (One solar mass = mass of the Sun.) zo
i
n
For a black hole with a mass ten times that of our Sun, the point at which light cannot
escape (i.e. the point at which it becomes black) is within 30 km of the centre. This is called Schwartzchild
the Schwartzchild radius. radius

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Falling into a black hole

Try these Fermi questions: If a black hole were to exist near some other stellar object such as a quasar (quasi-stellar
A How long would a beanstalk radio source) the gravitational attraction would drag matter from the quasar into the black
(elevated to geosynchronous
hole. Atomic particles would accelerate to near the speed of light as they approached. Rather
orbit) have to be? What
than falling straight in, they would swirl in like a whirlpool, becoming compressed and
tensile strength would it
heated and giving off enormous amounts of energy. It is this radiant energy that astro-
require? How does this
compare to steel, kelvar,
physicists detect as they try to identify the location of black holes.
spider silk, the maximum If you tried to travel into a black hole would you survive? Its hardly likely! Youd be
theoretical material strength? stretched, compressed and heated. Hardly the romantic stuff of science fiction novels. If you
B According to one hypothesis, could avoid getting too close then you wouldnt get sucked in. The minimum distance from
20% of the mass of the which it is still just possible to escape (Schwartzchild radius) marks the boundary called the
asteroid that killed the event horizon.
dinosaurs was uniformly
deposited over the surface
of the Earth at a density of
The dilation of time caused by gravity
0.02 g/cm3. What was the One of the consequences of Einsteins general theory of relativity is that the passage of time
mass of this asteroid? is affected by gravity. To an astronaut falling into a black hole time would pass normally. But
to outside observers, for example us on Earth, time would appear to slow down because
of the immense gravity near a black hole. It would seem to take ages for the astronaut to
disappear into the hole. This is called the dilation of time (Latin dilato = expand).
Whats it like inside a black hole?

You cant escape from a black hole its sort of like our universe. You cant travel off into
space and leave our universe so some scientists have said that our universe is like a black
hole in someone elses universe. And their universe is a black hole in some higher universe.
Perhaps within black holes in our universe are smaller universes. Who knows? Its all specu-
lation but makes an intriguing thought. Books by Steven Hawking, Carl Sagan, Paul Davies
and Kip Thorne examine the possibilities and consequences of such theories. Magazines such
as Scientific American and New Scientist tell of the latest research. Theres no room for it here.
What is the fate of a black hole?

Stephen Hawking was the theoretical physicist who showed that black holes eventually evap-
orate. Thats right evaporate. His technical paper had the unusual title of Black holes
aint so black!! Hawkings calculations confirmed that a spinning black hole loses energy
by emitting radiation (the so-called Hawking radiation) and as it does it becomes smaller
and hotter, eventually becoming so small and hot that it simply evaporates. In fact, today,
physicists applying the laws of thermodynamics and quantum gravity require black holes
to eventually evaporate in about 1067 years. The smaller the black hole, the faster it will
evaporate. An interesting theory but wholl be around to see if its true?
ASTRONOMY VERSUS ASTROLOGY 6.10

Astronomy is the scientific study of heavenly bodies stars, planets, comets, quasars etc.
Astrology is a pseudo-science (i.e. non-scientific) that claims to foretell the future by study-
ing the supposed influence of the relative positions of the Moon, Sun and stars on human
affairs. Up to the time of Kepler (1600) only astrology existed. Observations and experiments
by Galileo, Kepler and Newton produced universal laws and the new science of astronomy
began. Astrology slowly became the mumbo-jumbo side of sky watching and was relegated to
the irrational, non-scientific and hoaxers club together with pyramid power, clairvoyance, ESP,
water divining, flat earth theory, numerology, faxes from the dead, Feng Shui, Tarot Cards,
Bermuda Triangle, runes, UFOs, levitation, Philadelphia experiment, faces on the Moon and
Elvis sightings, to name just a few.
Astrophysics 157
Astrology has stagnated in the pre-scientific theories of thousands of years ago. It has no
testable hypotheses, no statistically reliable evidence of past successes, no research program,
no predictive power that can be tested by experiment. Astrologers make many extravagant
claims of success but they have never stood up to rigorous scientific scrutiny. In short
astrology is an article of faith, of pseudo-scientific hocus-pocus and rightly belongs in the
comic section of the newspaper. There is a group, the Australian Skeptics, which examines
pseudo-scientific claims and publishes a bi-monthly journal. Visit their Web page at
http://www.skeptics.com.au for more information.
Activity 6.8 A SIMPLE TEST

Astrologers believe that the positions of planets at the time of birth influence the
newborn. Scientists deride this belief and claim that the gravitational force exerted on
a baby by the obstetrician or midwife is greater than that exerted by the planets.
1 To check this claim, calculate and compare the gravitational force exerted on a
4 kg baby by (a) a 70 kg obstetrician who is 1 m away; (b) the massive planet
Jupiter (m = 2 1027 kg) at its closest approach to Earth (= 6 1011 m);
(c) by Jupiter at its greatest distance from Earth (= 9 1011 m). What is your
conclusion?
2 Are there any planets that may be lighter but closer that could have some
effect? What about the Moon?
3 What new planets have been discovered in the past 2000 years that astrologers
conveniently forget about? Where would you look?
6.11 UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Many of the questions people ask about the structure, history and future of the universe cant
be answered with a lot of certainty, but there is consensus among scientists about most of
the main theories. There is a lot of debate within the scientific community about many
aspects, though. Youll find plenty of books in the library and bookstores in which the authors N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
speculate on the story of the universe. Happy hunting! If you happened to be a
kilometre from the Big Bang
Questions you could ask:
when it occurred, what would
Did the universe create itself? you hear? We bet you miss the
Could we possibly know about past cycles of creation if there were any? critical problem with this
Can we have parallel universes made of antimatter? scenario. Good luck!
Could astrology work by undiscovered forces?
Do quantum fluctuations enable the creation of something out of nothing?
Yeah right!
Is there life out there, and what is the SETI project on about?

Practice questions
For questions that follow, use the following data:

g (on Earth) = 10 m s2.
G = 6.67 1011 N m2 kg2.
rmo (radius of Moons orbit around Earth) = 3.8 108 m.
reo (mean radius of Earths orbit around Sun) = 1.5 1011 m.
Ta b l e 6 . 5
BODY MASS (kg) RADIUS (m)
Earth me = 6 1024 kg re = 6.38 106 m
Moon mm = 7.34 1022 kg rm = 1.74 106 m
Sun ms = 2.0 1030 kg rs = 6.96 108 m

*32 The Gemini cluster is 300 Mpc away. Convert this distance to metres.
*33 Pegasus II has a radial velocity of 12 800 km/s. What is this in units of c?
*34 The Coma cluster is 60 Mpc away from us and has a recession speed of
6600 km/s. Calculate the Hubble constant for this galaxy.
*35 Some early estimates of the Hubble Constant put it at 50 km/s/Mpc.
(a) Would this make the universe older or younger than if a value of
75 km/s/Mpc was used?
(b) What would the age of the universe be if H0 was 50 km/s/Mpc?
*36 Calculate the wavelength of maximum radiation emitted by the red star
Barnards Star, which has a temperature of 3090 K.
**37 The mean radius of the orbit of planet X in another solar system is 4 1012 m.
If the average value for r 3/T 2 for this system is 3.5 1018 m3/s2, calculate the
period of planet Y, which has an orbital radius of 3 1010 m.
*38 What is the gravitational force of attraction between:
(a) two apples, of mass 100 g each, placed 30 cm apart on a table
(b) the Earth and the Sun
(c) an electron and a nucleus 1.5 m apart? The mass of the electron (me) is
9.11 1031 kg. Consider the nucleus to be made up of two protons each
with a mass (mp+) of 1.67 1027 kg.
*39 How far apart would you have to place two masses each of 1 million kg in order
that the force between them was 1.0 N?
*40 The 2270 kg Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft is in a circular polar
orbit of radius 900 km and is travelling at 530 m s1. Calculate
(a) the centripetal acceleration; (b) the centripetal force; (c) the period.
*41 Ignoring the rotation of the Earth, what is the weight of a 1.5 kg mass
(a) on the surface of the Earth; (b) 100 km above the Earths surface;
(c) in free space?
Astrophysics 159
*42 A satellite of mass 1850 kg is in a orbit 4500 km above the Earths surface.
Calculate (a) the gravitational force on the satellite; (b) the velocity of the
satellite; (c) the period of the satellite.
*43 An Apollo spacecraft is orbiting the Earth in a circular orbit 180 km above the
surface. If its mass is 3890 kg, calculate (a) the force on the satellite;
(b) the velocity of the satellite; (c) the period of the satellite.
*44 Calculate the escape velocity from Ceres, the most massive of the asteroids
mass 1.17 1021 kg, radius 3.8 105 m.
*45 (a) Calculate the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of the Moon.
(b) What time would it take a spanner to fall (from rest) from a height of 1.5 m
to the ground on the Moon?
*46 What is the gravitational field strength at a point (a) on the Earths surface;
(b) 1.5 Earth radii above the Earths surface; (c) 3.0 Earth radii above the
Earths surface; (d) 1000 m above the surface of the Moon; (e) on the surface of
the Sun?
**47 The constant G can be found by measuring the gravitational force between two
spheres of known mass, separated by a known distance. The first person to do
this was Henry Cavendish, in 1798, more than a century after Newton proposed
his law.
Figure 6.17
Figure 6.17 shows Cavendishs apparatus. Two small lead spheres, each of Cavendishs apparatus.
mass m, were fastened to the ends of a rod that was suspended from its
mid-point by a fine fibre. Large lead balls were brought up close to the small fibre
ones. The lead balls attracted each other and caused the fibre to twist. The
amount of twist was proportional to the force between the spheres. Cavendish m1
standardised the device beforehand by determining how much force was needed
m2
to twist the fibre by certain amounts.
Cavendish used two large lead spheres, each of mass 12.7 kg and two smaller
spheres, each of mass 9.85 g. Table 6.6 gives the results for the total force on
the fibre with the masses at various distances. m2 rod
m1
Ta b l e 6 . 6
d (cm) TOTAL FORCE (N)
5.0 66.8 1010
8.0 26.6 1010
10.0 16.6 1010
12.0 11.6 1010
13.0 9.9 1010
15.0 7.4 1010
(a) Calculate the force between one pair of spheres (divide the total force by 2). Cavendish didnt actually make
(b) Plot F (y-axis) vs distance. Make sure the distance is in metres. the apparatus he used for
(c) What relationship does this graph suggest? measuring electrostatic forces
(d) Plot another graph to confirm your prediction. (shown above). He inherited it
(e) Measure the slope of the graph. This gives the value Fd 2. Divide it by the from John Mitchell who died in
product of the masses to get the value for G. How does it compare with 1793 before he could try the
experiment himself.
the accepted value?
(f) From the graph, determine what force there would be for a distance of
9.5 cm.

**48 The following is based on an excerpt from an article written by Sally Ride.
She is a NASA space shuttle astronaut who is Professor of physics and Director
of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego.
Read the article and answer the questions that follow.
Adapting to outer space

Photo 6.6 Astronauts have to adapt to an environment that cant be simulated on Earth. Things
Challenger launch. in weightlessness seem to be subject to a different set of physical laws. The laws
are of course the same but sometimes the implications of those laws are much more
apparent. For example, on Earth, frictional effects make it difficult to study Newtons
laws of motion. Friction is hard to avoid because of gravity. Gravity holds things in
contact with the floor. Newtons laws take some getting used to. A peanut shell set
in motion will remain in motion until it hits a wall, a ceiling or somebodys mouth.
And a sharp tap on the shoulder can give sufficient impulse to send an astronaut
drifting across the room.
When an unanchored astronaut pulls on a drawer the result is frustrating, but
predictable. The drawer doesnt open, but the astronaut moves toward the drawer.
And if that astronaut uses a screwdriver, the result will be a spinning astronaut,
not a turning screw.
Surface tension tends to pull liquids into spheres. On Earth this isnt as obvious:
spilled milk lies in a puddle on the floor; in weightlessness, the same milk doesnt
splatter on the floor but forms a sphere floating in the middle of the room.
Astronauts eat out of open cartons and use spoons to get the food to their
mouths. The trick of course is to use sticky foods. Most of the food is dehydrated
and vacuum-packed in plastic cartons with thin plastic tops. Its rehydrated by
poking the needle of a water gun through the plastic top and injecting water.
Surface tension also causes liquids to creep up drinking straws. Space shuttle straws
come with a small clamp to keep the drinks from climbing out. In orbit, a column
of liquid has no buoyant effect and no sedimentation. A cork does not bob in water,
a bubble would not rise to the surface of a liquid (which means dissolved gases stay
in carbonated soft drinks, so they arent very good to drink), and there would be
no layer of chocolate at the bottom of a glass of chocolate milk. As you can imagine,
its a unique living environment.
(from Halliday & Resnick Fundamentals of Physics, 3rd edn, 1988)
(a) Which of Newtons laws was the author referring to in her discussion about
the drawer?
(b) What would happen to the gases in a soft drink when you drank it?
(c) Milk mightnt splatter but would a tennis ball bounce?
(d) Describe some way astronauts could anchor themselves to the floor.
(e) Friction with the floor is a problem, but does this mean all friction is
reduced?

***49 How far above the surface of the Earth would you have to be so that a dollar
coin (mass 7.4 g) took twice as long to fall 1.5 m when compared with a similar
fall on the surface of the Earth?
***50 Describe a planet in terms of its mass and radius that could give (a) an
acceleration due to gravity half that for g on the surface of Earth; (b) a time
of flight twice that compared with Earth for a stone dropped from 2.0 m;
(c) a time of flight twice that on Earth for a stone projected vertically upward
at 10 m s1.
Astrophysics 161
***51 On a spherical non-rotating planet with a radius of 5.1 103 km, what is the value of Figure 6.18
g for an object when it is at a height of 150 km, expressed as a fraction of its value at For question 53(c).
the surface?
***52 In 1610, Galileo used his telescope to discover the four most prominent moons Fm Fe
of Jupiter (the Galilean moons). Their mean orbital radii and periods are given
in Table 6.7.
Moon
Earth
Ta b l e 6 . 7 d
NAME r ( 10 8 m) T (DAYS)
Io 4.22 1.77
Europa 6.71 3.55
Ganymede 10.70 7.16
Callisto 18.80 16.70
Plot a graph of r 3 (y-axis) against T 2 (x-axis) and comment on what this graph
shows about the relationship between r and T.
***53 (a) At what distance from the Earth would a spacecraft experience zero net Figure 6.19
For question 57.
gravitational force due to the opposing pulls of the Earth and the Moon?
(b) Express this as a fraction of the total EarthMoon distance. axis
(c) Is this the only place you would feel weightless? (See Figure 6.18.)
***54 (a) What is the acceleration due to gravity inside an aeroplane cruising at
10 000 m above the ground? Assume g at ground level is 9.810 m s2.
(b) How much more time would it take for a coin to fall a metre when inside equator
the plane compared with on the ground? 28
***55 Consider a pulsar, a collapsed star of extremely high density, with a mass equal Brisbane
to that of the Sun but with a radius of only 12 km.
(a) Calculate the value of gravitational acceleration.
(b) If the period of rotation is 0.041 s, calculate the value of centripetal
acceleration at the equator.
***56 One clock uses an oscillating spring; a second clock uses a pendulum. Both are
taken to Mars. Will they keep the same time there that they kept on Earth?
Will they agree with each other? (The mass of Mars is one-tenth that of the
***57
Earth and its radius is half that of Earth.)
Brisbane has a latitude of 28 south, which means that the angle between lines

from the centre of the Earth to Brisbane and from the centre to the equator is The moon is not falling.
28. (See Figure 6.19.) People in Brisbane still make 1 revolution in 24 hours There is no gravity in space.
but travel a smaller distance than someone at the equator. Weightlessness means that
For a 60 kg person in Brisbane, calculate: there is no gravity.
(a) the distance travelled in one day due to the Earths rotation on its The Earths spinning motion
produces gravity.
own axis
Planetary orbits are circles.
(b) the linear velocity Summer is when the Earth is
(c) the centripetal acceleration closest to the sun.
(d) the centripetal force. Spacecraft travel in straight
(e) In which direction would the following forces be directed: lines from one planet to
(i) gravitational force; (ii) centripetal force; (iii) weight? another.
Black holes are big.
Light travels in straight lines.

***58 A spaceship is idling at the fringes of our galaxy, 80 000 light years from the
galactic centre. What is the ships escape velocity from the galaxy? The mass of
the galaxy is 1.4 1011 solar masses. A light year is the distance light travels in
one year at a speed of 3 108 m s1.
***59 The planet Mars has a satellite, Phobos, which travels in an orbit of radius
9.4 106 m with a period of 7 hours 39 minutes. Calculate the mass of Mars
from this information.
***60 The blue stars Procycon and Formalhaut have the same temperature of 7600 K
but have radii of 848 000 and 750 600 km respectively.
(a) Determine the wavelength of maximum energy emission of the stars using
Weins law.
(b) Which star would be emitting radiation at the greater rate?
(c) Which star would be emitting the more radiation from an area 1 m2 in size?
Astrophysics 163
CHAPTER 07
Hydrostatics: The Physics of Fluids
7.1 F L U I D S AT R E S T ?
Fluids play a central role in our daily lives. But what are they? We breathe them, we drink
them and they flow through our veins. The sea is a fluid; and the atmosphere; and the core
of the Earth. In a car, there are fluids in the tyres, the petrol tank, the radiator, the combus- N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
tion chambers of the engine, the exhaust pipe, the lubrication system and the hydraulic
Long ago people predicted high
brakes. Medicine, too, relies on an understanding of fluids in action: the pumping of kidney and low tides based on observed
dialysis machines and the anaesthetist using a heartlung machine, to name just two. The regularities, but they didnt
safe movement of fluids is of vital importance to society. Ruptured oil pipelines and blood have a theory of tides.
vessels are reminders of what can happen if the physics of them is neglected. An under- Was this science?
standing of the physics of fluids is essential to society.
You probably already know that fluids include liquids and gases substances that flow.
But they are more than just that. In this chapter we will be considering the science of fluids
at rest hydrostatics.
Have you ever wondered about these questions concerning fluids:
Sugar flows out of a packet when I tip it up. Is sugar a fluid?
Fresh eggs sink in water but stale eggs float. What is happening?
In England, sandshoes are called plimsolls. Why is this and who was Plimsoll?
Why is quicksand so deadly? Why cant you get out?
Could you walk across a tub of mercury? How far down would you sink?
Why do some scuba divers die when they come up to the surface too fast?
Car brake fluid strips the paint off cars if it is spilt. Why dont they use water
or oil?
If a doctor said your blood pressure was 120 over 80 would you care?
Unwanted pets are sometimes killed by decompression. It sounds cruel is it?
Photo 7.1
Pitch drop experiment. Professor John
What is a fluid? Mainstone of the Department of Physics
at the University of Queensland, with
A fluid is a substance that can flow. Gases and liquids can flow solids cant. Fluids take the current pitch drop about two years
after the previous drop.
on the shape of any container in which they are put. Some materials such as pitch take a long
time to flow, but eventually they do, so we call them fluids. Glass in medieval windows is now
thicker at the bottom than at the top because it has slumped a bit. Glass too is a fluid,
although a very viscous (thick) one. Viscous comes from the Latin viscum meaning bird-
lime. This was a sticky gum applied to branches to trap bird pests in orchards. Of liquids,
the least viscous is liquid helium (270C), which is so mobile that it creeps up and over the
sides of its container.
But maybe everything will flow eventually so maybe everything is a fluid! Whats the
point of distinguishing between fluids and solids? The point is: no, not everything is a fluid.
Ice isnt, steel isnt, bricks arent. A fluid is a system of particles loosely held together by their
own attractive forces or by the restraining forces exerted by the walls of the container. A fluid

will flow even if the forces are very weak. A solid will not flow at all unless the applied forces
are in excess of some threshold value. Pitch and glass are fluids of high viscosity. Even if the
force is small they will flow, although very slowly. (See photo of pitch drop experiment on
previous page.) However, in practical and useful terms, we can think of fluids as being
substances that can be pumped along pipes.
PRESSURE 7.2
When a fluid is placed into a container it exerts a force on any surface exposed to it. The
magnitude of this force divided by the area over which the force acts is called pressure.
Pressure = force P= F
In setting the world record for a
bed of nails, a 60 kg man lay area A
down on 259 nail points in a
30 45 cm board. The contact
area for each nail with his skin If the force is in newtons (N) and the area in square metres (m2), the pressure is in
was 10 mm2. Then a 268 kg pascals (Pa). One pascal equals one newton per square metre. Although pressure is defined
weight was placed on top of him. in terms of a vector quantity, it is not a vector quantity itself. The unit pascal was named
Calculate the pressure of the after the French scientist and mathematician Blaise Pascal (162362). Pascal suffered from
nails on his skin. a condition known as a soft fontanelle, in which the cartilage between the bones of the skull
never properly hardened. This gave rise to migraine headaches so severe that it halted his
scientific thinking. Nevertheless he made huge contributions to science and philosophy
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E during his 39 years on Earth. Although to physicists he is best remembered for his work on
Which of the following ball pressure, in general he is remembered for his remarkable insights in religious thinking,
bearings will fall most slowly? fragments of which are recorded in his book Penses. A computer language has since been
named in his honour.
water milk
Activity 7.1 HIGH PRESSURE
The Guinness Book of Records lists the highest atmospheric pressure ever recorded on
-10C 10C
Earth as 108.38 kPa in Siberia in 1968. Where was the lowest recorded; what was it and
when?
Ta b l e 7 . 1 S O M E P R E S S U R E S
oil tar
PRESSURE (Pa)
50C 80C
Centre of the Sun 2 1016
Centre of the Earth 4 1011
Highest sustained laboratory pressure 2 1010
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Deepest ocean trench 1 1010
Spike heels on dance floor 1 106
You can exert a force of 250 N
Car tyre 3 105
with your incisor teeth and
Atmosphere at sea level 1 103
1220 N with your molars.
Which do you estimate to Blood pressure 2 104
produce the higher pressure? Loudest tolerable sound 30
Note: your front incisors are Faintest detectable sound 3 105
about 8 mm 0.2 mm and your Best laboratory vacuum 1 1012
molars are about 8 mm 8 mm.
Example
A person has a mass of 65 kg. The contact area between his shoes and the floor is 315 cm2.
Calculate the pressure he exerts on the floor.
Hydrostatics 165
Solution N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
315
Force (weight) = mg = 650 N; area = 315 cm2 = m2 = 0.0315 m2.
100 100 The pressure in an aeroplanes
tyre was measured with a
P = F = 650 = 20 600 Pa pressure gauge at sea level. The
A 0.0315 plane flew off and landed on a
high mountain airstrip. If the
You can have a high pressure without a large force. A chisel (Figure 7.1) has a sharp tip temperature was the same as
and when a small force is applied it will easily penetrate wood (and your shoe if you drop it). at sea level, how would the
pressure gauge reading compare
A small force of 1 newton applied to the handle will be transferred to the point and produce
with that at sea level?
a very large pressure. If the point has an area of 106 m2, the pressure will be:
P = F = 16 = 10 6 Pa (1 megapascal)
A 10 Figure 7.1
Because many surfaces cannot stand this pressure, the chisel will penetrate them. Hardwood
or pine are good examples.
This concept helps us to understand the action of knives, needles and nails. They work
because of the small contact area. On the other hand, army tanks and bulldozers work on the
reverse principle the bigger the surface area of their caterpillar treads, the less likely they
are to sink into muddy ground. Four-wheel drive owners will know that this technique can be
applied when driving in loose sand on a beach. Tyres can be deflated to half normal pressure
to increase the surface area and hence lessen the amount they sink into the sand (Figure 7.2).
A c t i v i t y 7 . 2 R OA D S A N D T Y R E S
Roads gradually break up from the constant pressure of passing car and truck tyres. But Figure 7.2
big trucks are not always the worst offenders as their load is often spread over eighteen In soft sand it often helps to
deflate the tyres to about half the
or more tyres. normal pressure.
Part A inflated partially

partially
Use a ruler to measure the contact area of a bicycle tyre with a flat surface while tyre deflated
deflated

a person is sitting on the bike. Measure or estimate the total mass of the bike
plus rider and calculate the pressure exerted by the tyres on the surface. Assume
that half the weight is supported by each tyre.
Repeat for a car. The mass of the car will be in the owners handbook. Most cars
are between 1000 kg and 2000 kg.
Part B
Rank the following in order of the pressure exerted by the tyres on the road. Include
the two results from above.
A BMX bicycle; mass 20 kg plus rider 45 kg; contact area 10 cm 5 cm per tyre.
A Porsche 911 Carerra, mass 1370 kg, on four tyres, each with a contact area of
15 cm 20 cm.
A Landcruiser, mass 2960 kg, on four tyres, each with a contact area of
17 cm 22 cm. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A fully laden semi-trailer of mass 42 t; 22 tyres, each with a contact area of Four car tyres are inflated to
20 cm 20 cm. the same pressure. One wheel
is jacked up.
Questions How does this change the

pressure in the jacked-up tyre
1 A girl with a weight of 500 N stands in snow on a pair of skis. Each ski has a and in the other three?
contact area of 1.5 m 0.13 m. Calculate the pressure on the snow.
2 Calculate the pressure at the bottom of a round swimming pool of diameter
6.0 m filled to a depth of 1.2 m.

3 In some shops and factories, cheese is cut by a wire. Imagine a steel wire with a
diameter of 0.2 mm being pulled through a block of cheese 20 cm wide by the
downward force of a 5 kg mass (50 N). Calculate the pressure acting on the cheese.
MEASURING PRESSURE 7.3

Atmospheric pressure
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E The gas particles of the atmosphere have weight and they exert a pressure on us and the sur-
A fluorescent light tube is stood
face of the Earth. It can be calculated that about 150 t of air pushes down on just the floor
upright in a bucket of water and of a living room. This is the atmospheric pressure and has a value of 101 325 pascal (Pa) or
a small hole is cut in the tube 101.325 kPa. The higher you go up into the atmosphere the smaller the amount of air above
underwater with a triangular you and hence the lower the pressure.
file. The gas pressure inside the
tube is 330 Pa. To what height Ta b l e 7 . 2 C H A N G E S I N AT M O S P H E R I C P R E S S U R E
do you estimate the water will
rise? Try it but first think of ALTITUDE (m) PRESSURE (kPa)
how you will dispose of the 15 000 12.0
water-filled tube.
11 000 22.5
9 000 31.0
6 000 47.1
3 000 70.0
0 (sea level) 101.3
An empty soft-drink can has Concrete floors are able to stand very high pressures. Concrete is extremely resistant to
some water in it and is boiled compression forces but relatively weak to stretching forces. Concrete batching plants can
over a Bunsen burner. It is supply different mixes of concrete depending on its purpose. Household concrete slabs
quickly inverted and stood typically use a 20 megapascal (20 MPa) blend, whereas high-rise columns need 80 MPa
up in a tray of cool water. concrete.
What do you predict will
happen? Try it, but use tongs.
Activity 7.3 CONCRETE STRENGTH TESTING (CST)
1 Find out the procedure for testing the strength of concrete made by the
ready-mix batching plants. They only sample one in 20 truckloads. Why? What
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E do they do with the concrete samples after testing?
A piece of burning paper is 2 Find out the specifications (in MPa) for several types of concrete available from
placed in a conical flask and a the batching plant. What makes them different? Are they sold by the tonne or
boiled egg placed in the top. cubic metre? Does their cost vary?
You can imagine what happens.
3 Reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete both have steel bars or cables
But how to reverse the
process without touching
inside them. Why is this?
the egg now thats where 4 Testing laboratories express the strength of concrete in kilonewtons per square
the physics is needed. millimetre. How is this related to megapascals?
Measuring air pressure

Three common ways of measuring air pressure are with the barometer, the manometer and
the Bourdon gauge.
The barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure. The word is derived from
the Greek baros meaning weight and hence refers to the weight of the atmosphere. The
manometer also measures pressure, not of the atmosphere but of some other gas relative to
atmospheric pressure. In Greek, manos means rare, referring to gases at low pressure where
the particles are few and far between.
Hydrostatics 167
The barometer Figure 7.3

The mercury barometer.
The invention of the mercury barometer (1643) by Evangelista Torricelli arose from his
vacuum; p2 is almost
realisation that air has weight. He noted that if the open end of a glass tube filled with mer- zero (there is a small
cury is inverted in a bowl of mercury, the atmospheric pressure ( p1) on the bowl of mercury C pressure caused by
evaporated mercury)
will affect the height of the column of mercury in the glass tube. The greater the air pressure,
the longer is the mercury column. Normal atmospheric pressure will support a column of
glass tube
mercury 760 mm high. The symbol for mercury, Hg, is from the Greek hydro-argentum
meaning silvery water. Hence normal atmospheric pressure can be written as 760 mmHg. h = 76 cm mercury
(See Figure 7.3.)
p1 atmospheric pressure
Mercury is ideal for a liquid barometer, since its high density permits a short column,
whereas a water barometer would be 10 m tall at normal atmospheric pressure. A
The aneroid barometer (Bourdon gauge)

dish
(a) chain winds round a small (b) pointer
pointer axle drum and turns the pointer
pressure
scale
pointer lever magnifies
movement here
fine chain
coiled spring long arm
keeps chain linkage, which
an increase in of lever magnifies the
taut air pressure
small tube's
crushes the box
movement movement Figure 7.4
here When the gas pressure inside the
curved metal tube increases, the
lever tube tries to uncurl. The end of the
gas or liquid
pivot tube is linked to a pointer, which
pressure
curved metal tube, reads pressure on a circular scale.
short arm which tries to uncurl
steel (a) The aneroid barometer.
of lever when the pressure
spring hinge joint (b) The Bourdon gauge.
inside it increases
partial vacuum
inside metal box
Most barometers are of the aneroid type and function without liquid. The aneroid barometer,
dating from 1843, consists of a small metal box, almost totally evacuated of air. One side is
immovable, and the opposite side is connected to a strong spring to keep the box from
collapsing. The movable side will expand if the air pressure decreases and will compress if the
air pressure increases. The position of the movable side is indicated by a pointer. An aneroid Figure 7.5
barometer is checked regularly against a mercury barometer for calibration. Measuring pressure with a U-tube
manometer.
The aneroid barometer can be easily converted into a barograph, or recording barometer,
pressure
by adding a pen to the pointer. The ink in the pen describes a trace (barogram) on the paper atmosphere
to be measured
wrapped around a cylinder. The cylinder usually rotates once a day or once a week. Whereas
P2
the mercury barometer is used in research laboratories and in important weather stations,
aneroid barometers are used in the home, on board ships, and in most weather stations. C
The manometer h
The manometer is the most direct and accurate instrument for measuring liquid and gas pres- P1
A B
sures of moderate range in the laboratory or in industry. In its common form, known as the
U-tube manometer, a tube is partially filled with a liquid such as mercury, oil, or water. With
one open end exposed to the atmosphere and the other end to the pressure or vacuum source
to be measured, the pressure is determined by noting the difference in level of the liquid in
the tube branches. Typically, the reading is in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). A manometer liquid of density

Photo 7.2 measures the difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure in a connected
A doctor using a sphygmomanometer. vessel. The reading is not the absolute pressure but the gauge pressure. Car tyres, for
instance, are inflated to about 200 kPa above atmospheric pressure. Their absolute pressure
would then be 300 kPa (100 kPa for the atmosphere and 200 kPa for the extra in the tyres)
but a tyre pressure gauge only registers gauge pressure over and above atmospheric pressure.
Pressure cookers have gauges that register in the same way.
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is measured with an instrument called a sphygmomanometer (Greek
sphygmo = pulse). It consists of an inflatable cuff, which is wrapped around a patients arm,
and is connected to an open-tube mercury manometer. To take the pressure, a stethoscope is
placed over the arteries of the arm just below the cuff and the pulsations of blood in the
arteries can be heard. As air is pumped into the cuff, it cuts off the flow of blood, and the
sounds stop. Then air is slowly let out of the cuff. When the pressure of the cuff becomes less
than the blood pressure, the blood flow returns. The pressure at which the flow of blood starts
up again is called the systolic pressure, which can be read off the manometer. As more air
is let out of the cuff, the sounds become muffled. The pressure at this point is called the
diastolic pressure.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Blood pressure is expressed as systolic pressure over diastolic pressure. The systolic blood
The sphygmomanometer was pressure is recorded during the instant that the heart contracts (systole) to force blood into
invented by Ren Lannec in the circulation; it is always higher than the diastolic blood pressure, which is recorded when
1816. He used a rolled-up tube the heart relaxes between beats (diastole). Thus, blood pressure of 120/80 mmHg means that
of paper to listen to a very the systolic (maximum) pressure is 120 and the diastolic (minimum) pressure is 80 mmHg.
fat patient. Readings above 140/90 are usually regarded as high (hypertension). As you get older your
Why isnt the cuff wrapped
normal blood pressure usually gets higher anyway.
around the lower part of
Modern electronic sphygmomanometers use a microphone to detect the pulse sound
your arm? Why wouldnt you
measure the pressure in that big
and a pressure sensitive resistor (a strain gauge) to measure the force. However, they need
artery in your neck? calibration against a mercury sphygmomanometer, which is simple and very reliable.
Activity 7.4 BLOOD PRESSURE

There is probably a sphygmomanometer in your school, possibly in the biology lab. If you
have access to it, take your own blood pressure. If you can borrow a stethoscope, listen
to the blood flow and see if you can identify the Korotkoff sound. If you are concerned
about your blood pressure you should visit your doctor to have it measured properly.
PA S C A L S P R I N C I P L E 7.4
If you squeeze an inflated balloon a bulge pops out somewhere else on the balloon. The
increased pressure that you apply is transmitted to the rest of the gas inside the balloon.
French scientist Blaise Pascal formulated a principle Pascals principle:
Pressure applied at any point to a fluid in a closed vessel is transmitted

equally to every other point in the fluid.
Gases can be compressed because the distances between particles are very large com-
pared with the size of the particles themselves. With a liquid, however, the particles are held
closely together by a variety of attractive forces including dispersion forces, dipoledipole
forces and hydrogen bonding. Because the particles are in close contact they cant be
compressed. If you study chemistry, these forces will be described in detail.
Hydrostatics 169
Pascals principle in real life Figure 7.6

Hydraulic brake system for a car with
drum brakes.
Many devices in common use rely on Pascals principle. The hydraulic car jack, the hydraulic
hoist in a car workshop, the hydraulic brakes in a car and the hydraulic press used to form master cylinder
sheet metal parts are all examples. The word hydraulic is made up of hydra meaning water filled with
brake fluid
and aulos meaning a pipe.
wheel
Figure 7.6 shows how hydraulic brakes in a car work. When foot pressure is applied to the cylinder
brake pedal, a small piston is made to move inside a cylinder (the master cylinder). This pis- brake line
ton pushes an oily brake fluid along a steel tube to another cylinder (the slave cylinder), which
is located on the wheel axle. The fluid pressure moves a piston, which pushes on the brake brake
callipers, forcing a brake pad to press against a brake disk. With drum brakes, the slave cylin- drum
brake
der pushes brake shoes against the drum. In the past, hydraulic fluid was made from castor oil brake pedal
and alcohol, but the demands of modern cars on their braking systems are a lot higher than brake
lining
they used to be. A lot of heat is generated by brake friction so a liquid with a high boiling shoe
point is needed. For example, high speed pursuits by the London police generated brake fluid
temperatures of 188C, which was sufficient to boil normal brake fluid so a blend of synthetic
polymers (glycol ethers and borate esters), corrosion inhibitors and fluid modifiers, with a boil-
ing point of about 280C, was developed. Any vapour that forms in the hydraulic brake line Figure 7.7
will make the brakes feel spongy and render them ineffective. Brake fluid has to be bled out A hydraulic hoist, used to magnify
of the line to remove any vapour bubbles if this happens. Brake fluids absorb moisture and if force Fi. The work done by this
force, however, is not magnified
the moisture content reaches 1.5%, the boiling point will be about 155C, the minimum and it is the same for both the
allowed for safe driving. One drawback of modern brake fluid is that it can make a mess of input and the output forces.
paintwork but this is a small price to pay for a safe braking system. In other hydraulic systems output
on trucks, graders and bulldozers, a light oil can be used because no heat is generated.
Fo
Pascals principle is also the basis of the hydraulic hoist in a motor garage. An external
force (usually a motor) forces a small piston downward. The force is transmitted by an incom- input
pressible liquid, in this case water with some soluble oil included as a lubricant, to a larger Fi
Ao
piston as shown in Figure 7.7. A small input force moving through a large distance equals a Ai do
large output force moving through a small distance.
In the next chapter you will see that the product of force distance is called work (W = di
Fs). The product of F s on input equals the product of F s on output. In motor garages, a oil
hydraulic hoist is used to lift a car up high so that it can be worked on from underneath.
In terms of Pascals principle the relationship can be written:
Pressure in small cylinder = pressure in large cylinder

P = F1 = F2
A1 A2
Thus if a force of 20 N was applied to a piston of diameter 1 cm, it would produce a force of
20 000 N on a piston 30 cm in diameter. This force would lift 2000 kg that of a car.
Example
The input piston in a hydraulic hoist has a diameter of 1.50 cm, whereas the output piston is
much larger at 25.0 cm. The output piston has to lift a total weight of 30 500 N. Calculate
(a) the pressure that has to be applied; (b) the force needed on the small piston; (c) the
distance the input piston will move if the output piston moves 1.50 m.
Solution
F2 30 500
(a) P = = = 621 340 Pa.
A2 0.1252
30 500 p 0.00752
= 2 ; F = F2 A1 =
F1 F
(b) = 110 N.
A1 A2 1 A2 p 0.1252
(c) F1 s1 = F2 s2; s1 = F2 s2 = 30 500 1.50 = 4.15 m.

F1 110

Questions
4 A hydraulic hoist in a truck workshop has to be able to lift 85 000 N. The small
piston has a diameter of 5.5 cm, whereas the output piston has a diameter of
45.0 cm. Calculate (a) the force needed on the small piston; (b) the pressure
that has to be applied; (c) the distance the input piston will move if the output
piston moves 1.80 m.
ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE 7.5

Archimedes principle is the fundamental natural law of buoyancy, first identified by the
Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes in the third century BC. He was once asked by
King Hieron II to work out if a gold crown being given to the King was pure gold or if it
contained impurities of silver and copper. The story is told that he was sitting in a bath and
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E noticed that objects underwater seemed lighter in weight than they did in air. On realising
this he is said to have run naked around the streets of Syracuse shouting Eureka, which
I was in the swimming pool translated from the Greek is I have found it.
holding a steel spanner and Most of the story is fiction but he did discover some facts about floating and sinking.
I thought the spanner should
Incidentally, Archimedes worked out a way to tell if the crown was pure gold, as youll
feel lighter because of the
see later. He also did some experiments and found that the volume of water that overflowed
buoyant upthrust. But it felt
heavier. To my hand it really
from a filled container of water was equal to the volume of the object placed in it. It seems
felt heavier. By why? It slowly
commonsense to say that, but you should remember that experimental science was in its
dawned on me! infancy 2000 years ago. Archimedes later showed that the upthrust (upward force) on an
object equals the weight of water displaced. This is Archimedes principle. It states:
When an object is wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, the upthrust on

the object is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.
For instance, you probably know that things feel lighter in water than in air. The loss in
weight of an object (the upthrust) is equal to the weight of water that it has displaced. If it
is fully submerged the volume of water displaced is the same as the volume of the object. The
weight of this volume of water is equal to the upthrust.
In general:
Weight in air apparent weight (in the fluid) = upthrust
The weight of an object in the fluid is better called the apparent weight (or scale reading).
Figure 7.8
When a heavy object is placed in water, Example
it experiences an upthrust. In this case A housebrick has a volume of 1900 cm3 and a weight in air of 80 N. What is its apparent
the upthrust is 3 N.
weight in water? The density of water is 1.00 g cm3.
Solution
Volume of water displaced = volume of brick = 1900 cm3.
Mass of water displaced = density volume = 1.00 1900 = 1900 g = 1.9 kg.
Weight of water displaced = mg = 1.9 10 = 19 N.
spring
balance 6N
Weight in water (apparent weight) = weight in air upthrust = 80 N 19 N = 61 N.
9N Note: some people prefer to use the units kg m3 for density. While this is the correct usage
water of SI units, g cm3 is commonly used. The conversion is: 1 g cm3 = 1000 kg m3.
Specific gravity
solid A litre of water has a mass of 1.00 kg, but the same volume of methylated spirits has a mass
of only 0.79 kg. We can say that the density of methylated spirits is 0.79 that of water.
This is called its relative density (RD) or its specific gravity (SG). The two terms are
interchangeable and although relative density is more correct, specific gravity is widely used
in industry and the other sciences.
Hydrostatics 171
The specific gravity (SG) is defined as the ratio of the mass of an object in air N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
compared with the mass of an equal volume of water. Density of some fluids
mass of object in air (in g cm3)
Specific gravity =
mass of equal volume of water Petrol 0.68
Alcohol 0.81
But it can also be written: Water 1.00
Sea water 1.03
weight of object in air Sugar syrup 40% 1.15
specific gravity = Mercury 13.6
weight of equal volume of water
1 What would have the greater
density: (a) low-alcohol beer
According to Archimedes principle, the weight of an equal volume of water equals the or normal beer; (b) Coke or
upthrust (weight loss) when it is submerged. Thus: Diet Coke?
2 Cans of Coke and Diet Coke
weight in air were put in a tub of water.
specific gravity =
weight loss when submerged in water Will they both float, sink or
one float, one sink? Try it.
weight in air
or specific gravity =
weight in air apparent weight in water
WA
SG =
WA WW
In the example above, this equation gives a value of 80/19 = 4.2 g cm3. This value can be
confirmed by dividing the mass of 8 kg (= 8000 g) by a volume of 1900 cm3, which also equals
4.2 g cm3.
Example
A crown supposedly made of gold weighs 8.00 N in air. If the SG of gold is 19.3, what should
be the crowns apparent weight in water?
Solution
weight in air
SG =
weight loss when submerged in water
weight loss = weight in air = 8.00 = 0.415

specific gravity 19.3
The crowns apparent weight should be 8.00 N 0.415 N = 7.59 N.
Activity 7.5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF IRREGULAR

OBJECTS
1 Tie a piece of cotton thread around a rock and suspend it from a spring balance.
Note the scale reading of the rock in air and again when the rock is fully A cube of brass measuring 2 cm
along its side was placed in a
submerged in water. Calculate the SG.
measuring cylinder containing
2 Try it with an iron bolt. Did you get an SG of 7.8? 50 mL of water.
What volume would the
Questions measuring cylinder read now?

Another cube with a side twice
5 When the brass cannons from the wrecked eighteenth century Dutch trading ship as big was also added. What
Batavia were recovered off the West Australian coast in 1988, they found that the would the final volume read?
cannons had a mass of 1100 kg when lifted out of the water. If the density of
brass is 8400 kg m3, what would their apparent weight have been in the water?
6 About 800 iron cannonballs were recovered from the Batavia. If each ball had a
diameter of 13 cm, calculate (a) their mass in air; (b) their weight in air;
(c) their weight in water. The density of iron is 7.8 g cm3 (7800 kg m3).

F L OAT I N G A N D S I N K I N G 7.6
Fresh eggs sink in water but stale eggs float. Why is that? Fresh eggs are more dense than
water that explains them. But in stale eggs, some of the contents have diffused through
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E the shell and been replaced by air and they float. They become less dense than water.
The relative density of two So not everything sinks in water. Wood floats, ice floats, polythene floats and so do stale
types of wood is as follows: eggs. Archimedes principle still applies but the volume of water displaced will not be equal
ironbark 1.3, balsa 0.24. Balsa to the total volume of the object.
is specified as 10 pounds per Imagine a 1000 cm3 block of wood floating in water so that four-fifths of its volume is
cubic foot. Is this about right? underwater. Thus, the volume of water displaced equals 800 cm3 and this has a mass of 800 g
or a weight of 8 N. Hence, by Archimedes principle, the upthrust must also equal 8 N. As the
block is floating, the weight of the block must also equal 8 N. As this is equivalent to a mass
of 800 g, the density of the wood can be calculated:
One of our students can float up Density () = m = 800 = 0.8 g cm 3
V 1000
to her earlobe in a swimming
pool when floating upright.
A Estimate her body density.
Note:
B How high would she float in
The density of a solid floating in a fluid is equal to the density of the fluid times
seawater (SG 1.030 g cm3)?
the fraction of the volume submerged.
C Would she float higher or
lower in cold water?
Density of object = density of fluid fraction submerged
D Would a boy of the same
height and mass float
For regular solids, the fraction submerged can be calculated from measurement of the vertical
the same way? height under and above the fluid.
Example 1
A cube of polythene floats with seven-eighths of its volume below the water level. Calculate
the density of the polythene.
Solution
The density of salt water is Density of object = density of fluid fraction submerged = 1.00 7 = 0.875 g cm3
8
greater than that of fresh water.
So, swimming in salt water Example 2
should be faster as your body
A 21 cm long polypropylene drinking straw floats upright in a bottle of water with 2.8 cm of
floats higher and therefore
its length above the surface. Calculate the density of polypropylene.
there is less friction.
True or false, and why? Solution
Density of object = density of fluid fraction submerged

= 1.00 21 2.8 = 0.87 g cm 3
21
A c t i v i t y 7 . 6 D E N S I T Y B Y F L OTAT I O N
1 Prepare 10 cm lengths of the following. They should be about 1 cm wide.
The side of a 2 L plastic milk container (high-density polyethylene);
SG 0.950.97.
An icecream bucket (low density polythene); SG 0.910.94.
A plastic drinking straw (polypropylene); SG 0.905.
A wooden paddlepop stick (pine); SG 0.030.04.
Hydrostatics 173
2 Float them upright in a filled bottle of water with a narrow neck.

3 Measure the fraction underwater and calculate the density of each.
4 Compare your results with the values given above.
5 How could you estimate what your own density would be in a swimming pool?
Questions
7 A rubber ball floats with 40% of its volume above water. What is its density?
8 A floating piece of wood displaces 80 cm3 of water. Find the weight and mass of
the wood.
The hydrometer
Figure 7.9
(a) A brewers hydrometer;
(a) (b) (b) A battery acid hydrometer.
0.97 low sugar, high alcohol
concentration rubber
0.98 bulb
0.99
1.00 level of pure water

at 15C
1.01
thin stem density scale
1.02 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
in g/cm 3
1.10 A boy is 1.8 m tall and can float
discharged upright in pool water with only
1.20
fully charged
5 cm above the water. When he
1.30 breathes in, his body rises so
1.10 high sugar that it is 25 cm above the
concentration hydrometer
1.15 surface. Can you estimate the
battery change in density of his body?
acid
rubber atmospheric
tube pressure
air-filled float N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Continents float on the liquid
mantle of the Earth. Continents
car battery containing
sulfuric acid have a density of 2800 kg m3
lead shot glued whereas the mantle has a density
in the bottom of 3300 kg m3. If a continent is
35 km thick, prove that the top
of the continent is 5.3 km above
The hydrometer is a device for measuring the specific gravity of battery acid, antifreeze the mantle surface.
solutions, milk, alcohol and other liquids. When industry buys alum solution for water
purification the concentration is checked simply by measuring the SG with a hydrometer. The
depth to which a graduated glass float sinks in the fluid is proportional to the density of the
fluid. The less dense the fluid, the deeper the hydrometer float sinks. The hydrometer for car
batteries measures the density of the sulfuric acid in the battery and indicates the state of
charge of the battery. A low density indicates that the battery needs recharging.

Figure 7.10
A floating candle will it rise or fall?
A c t i v i t y 7 . 7 F L OAT I N G C A N D L E
Predict the result of this activity before you attempt it.
1 A candle is weighted at its bottom with some lead or nails taped to it so that it
floats upright in water with just a centimetre or two above the surface.
2 Mark the water level on the candle with a pen or a nail (Figure 7.10).
mark
3 Light the candle.
4 As the candle burns, will the mark rise, fall or stay the same in the water?
Quicksand help!
If you fall into quicksand, people say you get sucked under. This is not true you will float
just as in water. But the underground spring feeding it can wander rapidly and often the
spring gets diverted a metre or so by your presence so the sand seems to set, making it dif-
ficult to get out. You wont sink below your armpits but, with your legs trapped, your life
Figure 7.11 expectancy is short. Does anyone have any suggestions?
The Plimsoll line is now called the
international load line. The symbols
stand for: T = tropical, S = summer,
W = winter, TF = tropical freshwater, The floating of ships
WNA = winter north Atlantic. The A and
B on the circle stand for the agency Women in general float higher in water than do men because women (in general, we
that assigned the load line to the ship. stress) have more fat on their bodies than men and fat has a lower density than muscle
In this case it was the American Bureau tissue. But not only is the density of the floating object important, but so too is the fluid in
of Shipping (AB).
which it floats. Ships will float at different levels depending on how salty and how warm (and
TF hence, how dense) the water is. There are special marks on the sides of ships, called the
Plimsoll line (Figure 7.11), which indicate how deeply a fully laden ship can safely float in
F
water of different types. It was named after Samuel Plimsoll, a member of the British
T Parliament who introduced the mark in 1885. Until then, ships could be loaded to any level
A B
S and were seriously overloaded by unscrupulous owners to cut costs. Plimsoll was known as
W
the sailors friend.
In England, sandshoes with a green line around their sides are called plimsolls after the
WNA
Plimsoll line.
Fish
Figure 7.12 Fish have a baglike organ called a swim bladder
The internal organs of a bony fish. just below their backbone (Figure 7.12). This pro-
vides buoyancy, which enables the fish to remain
kidney at a particular depth in the water.
stomach A fish would sink to the bottom if it did
not have a way of keeping buoyant. It gains
swim bladder
backbone buoyancy by inflating its swim bladder with gases
from its blood. But since water pressure increases
brain
with depth, a fishs swim bladder would get
smaller as it descends and this would reduce its
buoyancy. The amount of gas in the bladder must
be increased so that the bladder volume is just
right to maintain buoyancy. This is done auto-
matically by the fishs nervous system. Sharks and
rays do not have a swim bladder. To keep buoy-
heart
ant, these fish must swim constantly. When they
digestive tract rest, they stop swimming and so sink toward the
bottom. Many bottom-dwelling bony fish also
lack a swim bladder.
Hydrostatics 175
A c t i v i t y 7 . 8 C A RT E S I A N D I V E R Figure 7.13
Cartesian diver squeeze the bottle
and the diver sinks.
Fill a 2 L plastic soft drink bottle to about 5 cm from the top with water. Half-fill a
test-tube with water and up-end it into the soft drink bottle (Figure 7.13). If the
test-tube doesnt float, take it out and remove some of the water. Once you can get
it to float upright, screw the cap on the bottle. Squeeze the bottle and watch the
air
Cartesian diver. What happens to the water level inside the test-tube? Can you explain
what is going on?
test-tube
Balloons and blimps water
The Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Jacques, were inventors of the first practical hot-air
balloon. They used paper balloons to help English soldiers escape from the Spanish at
Gibraltar in 1782, but these caught fire several times. The two Frenchmen were papermakers
by trade and discovered in 1782 that smoke from a fire directed into a silk bag made the bag
buoyant. In 1783 they gave a public exhibition of their discovery with a balloon that rose to
an altitude of about 2 km and stayed aloft for 10 minutes. They later put a sheep, duck, and
rooster aboard the balloon to determine the effect of altitude on living creatures.
Photo 7.3
The modern non-rigid blimp has no internal structure to maintain the shape of its hull A blimp.
envelope, which is made of two or three plies of cotton, nylon, or dacron impregnated with
rubber for gas tightness (Photo 7.3). Inside the gas space of the hull are two or more air
diaphragms called ballonets that are kept under slight pressure, either by blowers or by air
that is forced through scoops as a result of the forward motion (ram effect). The ballonets in
turn exert pressure on the gas, which fills the envelope, and this pressure in turn serves to
stiffen the shape of the envelope and create a smooth flying surface. On take-off the
ballonets are almost fully inflated, but as the airship gains altitude and the gas expands, air
is bled from the ballonets while a constant pressure is maintained throughout the envelope.
Figure 7.14
When the gas contracts on descent, air is pumped back into the ballonets.
In 1991, Westinghouse Airships launched the 68-m long Sentinel 1000, the first in a pro-
jected series of blimps to be used by the US Defence Department for a range of surveillance,
upthrust
communications, and patrol duties. The envelope of the Sentinel 1000 is made of a mix of hot air
synthetic fibres that is impervious to weather and almost invisible to radar. balloon
weight
The principles behind the balloon and the blimp are similar to those of objects floating
in water. The air is a fluid; it has a density of about 0.0012 g cm3 or 1.2 kg m3. An object
such as a balloon displaces a certain volume of air and so experiences an upthrust equal to
the weight of the air displaced. As long as the balloon and its contents are lower in weight
than the weight of air displaced, the balloon will rise. To make up for the weight of the
balloon fabric, ropes and basket, the balloon has to be filled with a gas lighter than the
surrounding air. Hot air, hydrogen and helium are commonly used. Because helium gas is such
an expensive and a non-renewable resource, party balloons are filled with balloon gas, which tension
is mostly nitrogen but with some helium mixed in.
ground
Example 1
A large balloon is filled with hot air to a volume of 400 m3. It has a total weight of 4400 N
and is held to the ground by a vertical rope (Figure 7.14). Given that the density of the P H Y S I C S FA C T
surrounding air is 1.2 kg/m3, calculate the tension in the rope. The Wright brothers published
their account of the first flight in
Solution
the journal Gleaning on Bee
Mass of air displaced = density of air volume = 1.2 400 = 480 kg.
Culture. As manned flight didnt
Upthrust = weight of air displaced = mg = 480 10 = 4800 N. exist at the time there were no
Resultant force (tension) = 4800 N (up) 4400 N (down) = 400 N (up). aviation journals so a bee
journal was the next-best thing.

Example 2
A weather balloon has a mass when deflated (empty) of 5 kg. It is inflated to its volume of
A plastic soft-drink bottle is 8 m3 with helium, which has a density of 0.178 kg m3. Find the lifting force on the balloon
half-full of water. A small piece when the surrounding air has a density of 1.20 kg m3.
of cork is held just under the
surface by a piece of string Solution
glued to the bottom. The bottle Mass of air displaced = density volume = 1.2 8 = 9.6 kg.
is slid to the right. Upthrust = weight of air displaced = mg = 9.6 10 = 96 N.
Which way does the cork move Total mass of balloon = mass of balloon + mass of helium = 5 + (8 0.178) = 6.4 kg.
relative to the bottle forward,
Weight of balloon = mg = 6.4 10 = 64 N.
backward, sideways, no Lifting force = 96 N (up) 64 N (down) = 32 N.

movement? Youll be shocked
if you try.
Questions
9 A balloon is filled with hot air to a volume of 650 m3. It has a total weight of
6000 N and is held to the ground by a vertical rope. Given that the density of
the surrounding air is 1.18 kg m3, calculate the tension in the rope.
10 Moving natural gas from the North Sea gas fields in huge dirigibles (blimps) has
been proposed, using the gas itself to provide lift. Calculate the force required
slide
to tether such an airship to the ground for off-loading when it is fully loaded
with 1 106 m3 of natural gas at a density of 0.80 kg m3. The density of air is
1.18 kg m3. Neglect the weight of the airship.
11 The Goodyear blimp Columbia is cruising slowly at low altitude, filled as usual
with helium. Its maximum payload including crew and cargo is 1280 kg. How
much more could it carry if the helium was replaced with hydrogen? The volume
of the interior space is 5000 m3; the density of helium is 0.16 kg m3 and the
density of hydrogen is 0.08 kg m3.
PRESSURE AND DEPTH 7.7

Figure 7.15 When you dive to the bottom of a swimming pool you can feel the increased pressure on your
eardrums and lungs. When you go up a tall mountain you can feel your ears pop because of
A the decreased air pressure. Pressure increases with depth because there is a greater weight
of fluid on top of you.
The pressure exerted by a column of fluid on its base can be calculated by working out
the weight of fluid on a given area (Figure 7.15). The base of the column in Figure 7.15 has
h an area A and a height h. The density of the fluid is given the symbol .
Volume of fluid in column = Ah
mass of fluid = Ah
A
weight of fluid = Ahg
pressure = weight = Ahg = gh P = gh
area A
where P = pressure in Pa, = density in kg m3, A = area in m2, h = height in m, g = 10 m s2.
Could you have an object with a Note that pressure is independent of the area of the base. The pressure at the bottom of
vacuum inside that would float a large dam is no different from that at the bottom of a swimming pool if they are both the
in air? Answer: yes! You could
same depth.
use a titanium sphere 44 m in
diameter with a wall thickness of Example
2 mm. It would have a 29 N Determine the pressure due to the water at the bottom of a 12 m deep dam. Fresh water has
upthrust. If it was 310 m in a density of 1000 kg m3.
diameter and a wall thickness of
13.9 mm it could lift 1000 kg.
Hydrostatics 177
liquid surfaces all at the same level Figure 7.16

Pressure at a point in a fluid at rest
is independent of the size or shape
of the containing vessel.
Did people make paper planes
Solution before the Wright brothers flew
their aeroplane, Kitty Hawk,
in 1903?
P = gh = 1000 10 12 = 120 000 Pa (120 kPa)
Note: this is only the pressure due to the water. The total pressure includes that of the atmos-
phere on top of the water (+101.3 kPa). N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Definitely a tough one! A hollow
The bends steel ball with a wall thickness

of 2 cm and outside diameter of
Scuba divers breathe a mixture of oxygen and the inert gases nitrogen and helium. Under 12 cm is placed in acid and it
pressure, the inert gases diffuse into the blood and other tissues. If the pressure is relieved sinks. As the steel dissolves
too quickly by rising to the surface too fast, bubbles form in the tissues much as they do evenly from the sphere,
when a bottle of soft drink is opened. Sudden decompression from a long, deep dive can be suddenly it floats. Prove that
fatal; even a slight miscalculation can cause serious injury to the joints or the central this happens when the wall is
nervous system. 0.25 cm thick. The steel has a
density of 7.8 g/cm3 and acid
This problem is called decompression sickness (DCS) or the bends. The most effective
has the same density as water.
treatment for DCS is recompression. The diver is placed into a recompression chamber (RCC) 4
Note: V (sphere) = 3 r3.
and the pressure is increased according to a specified treatment table. The increased pressure
reduces the bubble size, which helps them to diffuse back into the blood. The diver is
compressed to an equivalent depth of 18 m of water and then decompressed over a period of
25 hours. The diver breathes oxygen from a mask while the rest of the chamber is filled with
air, not oxygen, because of the fire risk. Because the attendant sits inside the chamber and
breathes chamber air, great care must be taken to monitor his time and pressure profile (dive
profile) to avoid the embarrassment of having an attendant emerging from the RCC with DCS.
Diving barotraumas
As well as the bends, divers can suffer other problems when rising to the surface. The lungs
of a diver normally contain about 6 L of air. If the diver takes a full breath of air at 20 m Photo 7.4
Magdeburg Hemispheres. The
depth and rises to the surface, that 6 L volume expands to 18 L; in order to avoid bursting original hemispheres were devised
his lungs, the diver must exhale 12 L of air on the way up. Gas must be exhaled about every by Otto von Guericke, were about
metre otherwise the pressure in the lungs will be sufficient to rupture them. This is called 30 cm in diameter and, in a famous
demonstration in Magdeburg
lung barotrauma. It is second only to drowning as a cause of death in recreational scuba (Germany) in 1654, the air was
divers. As swimming pools are more than 1 m deep, lung barotrauma has occurred in backyard removed and even two teams of
pools. horses (16 of them) couldnt pull
the hemispheres apart.
Other types of barotraumas caused by gas expansion in the body while diving at depth
are:
mask squeeze (gas in the mask is compressed and can cause bleeding of eye tissues)
gastrointestional barotrauma (gas in the gut expands and can cause cramps, belching
and vomiting)
dental barotrauma (gas pockets in decayed teeth may allow the teeth to implode on
descent (going down) or to explode on ascent). It is not common. Diving sounds
like fun!

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Pressure in the atmosphere

A 30 cm wooden ruler was The relationship between pressure and altitude for a gas such as air is more complicated than
placed on a bench with 10 cm the relationship between pressure and depth for a liquid because the density of a gas is not
overhanging. A page of the constant. It depends on the pressure. The pressure in a column of air decreases as you go up
Courier Mail (58 cm 40 cm) from ground level, but unlike the pressure in a water column, the decrease in air pressure with
was placed on top of the ruler distance is not linear.
on the bench.
Calculate the weight of air on the
paper and predict what will happen
Activity 7.9 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE CHANGES
if the overhang is given a Part A
sharp blow with your fist. You Plot the following data (Table 7.3), which show the variation in pressure with height
wont believe the weight. Quick above Earths surface. The pressure halves for each 5.5 km rise in altitude.
now is it more than the weight
of three Corollas? Ta b l e 7 . 3
air pressure ALTITUDE (m) PRESSURE (kPa)
newspap
er 16 500 9.1
15 000 12.0
12 000 19.5
ruler
hit with fist
11 000 22.5
9 000 31.0
6 000 47.1
5 500 50.6
3 000 70.0
0 (sea level) 101.3
(a) Estimate the pressure at 10 km and at 18 km.
A cardboard tube is placed (b) Where would pressure be zero?
halfway into a container of (c) What type of relationship is this: inverse, inverse square, exponential or what?
puffed wheat. (d) In 1692 Newton said that pressure and density decreased exponentially with
What do you think will happen altitude. Was he right?
when you blow air across the
top of the tube? But why, and Part B
what does Bernoulli have to The pressure in an aeroplane tyre is taken at ground level with a tyre pressure gauge.
do with it? The plane flies to the top of a high mountain and the tyre pressure is taken again.
Assume the air temperature and the mass of the plane are constant. How do the pressures
jet of air
compare? Even engineers argue about this one. Good luck!
As you may gather from your graph from the above activity, in space the pressure is just
about zero for there is approximately only one particle per cubic metre. Without a pressurised
space capsule or space suit, animals, including humans, couldnt survive. Not only would their
ears pop as the internal body pressure exploded outwards, but eyes and blood vessels would
puffed also pop. A cruel death would intervene. Unwanted pets were once put to sleep by decom-
wheat
pression at animal pounds but as the process was too distressing for both the animals and the
operators the method has generally been discarded.
Examples of decompression
The Los Angeles Times reported that a flight attendant was wearing an inflatable bra
when the cabin depressurised during flight. The air expanded according to Boyles law
(Chapter 11) and inflated the bra to size 46, until a woman passenger stabbed her
strategically with a hat pin. This sounds like an urban myth to us!
When a tunnel under Londons Thames River had been completed and the two shafts
joined, the local politicians celebrated the event at the tunnels bottom. In the tunnel
they found the champagne flat and lifeless. When they returned to the surface, however,
the wine popped in their stomachs, distended their vests, and all but frothed from their
ears. One dignitary had to be rushed back to the depths to undergo recompression.
Hydrostatics 179
Questions
12 Calculate the pressure in kPa at the bottom of a column of mercury 76 cm high.
The density of mercury is 13 600 kg m3.
13 What is the total pressure (water + atmosphere) on a diver 20 m under sea water
that has a SG of 1.03? Assume atmospheric pressure is 101.3 kPa.
7.8 IN CLOSING
As humans explore new frontiers, research into extremes of pressure assumes great import- Photo 7.5
The blast-hole in the steel plate used in
ance. At the University of Queensland, their hypervelocity shock tunnel is being used in the the shock tunnel.
mechanical engineering department to study the effect of shock waves on various objects
such as spacecraft. An enormous piston compresses hydrogen gas to extreme pressures, which
then blasts its way through a steel plate (Photo 7.5) to provide the high velocities needed
for experiments. But just as important for us is the knowledge that stale eggs float, air in
your brakes is bad and high blood pressure is a worry.
Practice questions
*14 A person has a mass of 65 kg. The contact area between his shoes and the floor
is 315 cm2. Calculate the pressure he exerts on the floor.
*15 Calculate the pressure on the ground due to a Ford Falcon, mass 2240 kg, on four N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
tyres, each with a contact area of 15 cm 17 cm. A square pond measures 100 m
*16 A round swimming pool of diameter 4.5 m was filled to a depth of 1.1 m. by 100 m. A block of ice with a
Calculate the pressure at the bottom if you (a) neglect atmospheric pressure; mass of 1000 kg is floating freely
(b) include atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa). in the pond. How far will the
*17 The input piston in a hydraulic hoist has a diameter of 2.50 cm, whereas the water level rise when the ice
output piston is much larger at 29.0 cm. The output piston has to lift a total melts? You wont like the answer.
weight of 26 500 N. Calculate (a) the pressure that has to be applied; (The density of water is 1000 kg
m3; that of ice is 917 kg m3.)
(b) the force needed on the small piston; (c) the distance the input piston
will move if the output piston moves 2.0 m.
*18 A rock has a volume of 800 cm3 and a weight in air of 33 N.
(a) What is its weight (scale reading) in water?
(b) Calculate the density of the rock. The density of water is 1.00 g cm3.
*19 Petrol has a density of 0.8 g cm3.
(a) What is its specific gravity?
(b) What is its density in kg m3?
*20 The most dense gas known is radon (Rn) with a density of 0.010 05 g cm3 at
room temperature and pressure.
(a) What is the mass of a 15 L balloon full of it under these conditions?
(b) Convert the density to kg m3.
*21 A mass of small colourless mineral was measured in air using a spring balance
and then its apparent mass was measured in water. The spring balance read
16.5 g in air and 10.6 g when the specimen was in water. Calculate the SG.
*22 A pair of Scuba tanks has a volume of 22.4 L and a mass of 24 kg when full.
What is their weight (scale reading) in (a) air; (b) salt water?
(c) What mass would they have to be to have neutral buoyancy in this water?
The SG of salt water is 1.02.

*23 A float made of polystyrene foam floats with one-fiftieth of its volume below the
water level. Calculate the density of the polystyrene.
**24 A 50 cm piece of high density polythene water pipe is made to float upright in a
container of water. If the pipe has a density of 0.89 g cm3, how much of the
pipe will be above the surface?
*25 When a cube of ice is placed in tap water, 94% of its volume is submerged.
(a) What is the density of the ice cube?
(b) How much would be submerged if it was floated in salt water of density
1.02 g cm3?
**26 During the Second World War, a damaged freighter that was just able to float in
Figure 7.17
For question 33.
the salty water of the North Sea sank as it came up the Thames estuary toward
the London docks. Why?
container (i) **27 Beer hydrometers are calibrated at 15C and if the temperature is different, a
correction has to be applied. If a hydrometer placed in a beer wort at 25C gave
a reading of 1042 (1.042 g cm3) would you expect the real density to be higher
or lower than this value? Explain your answer.
**28 A girl has several large rocks in a row boat and she rows out into the middle of a
pond. To make some room she throws the rocks overboard.
(a) What happens to the water level on the side of her boat?
(b) What happens to the water level in the pond?
container (ii) (c) Design your own experiment to test your answer in the classroom. Write
down your results. They may surprise you.
*29 Why do you sometimes need to punch two holes in a can of pineapple juice to
make it come out evenly?
**30 Hydrogen appears to have negative weight as you cant weigh a balloon full of it
on a balance. Design an experiment to weigh a litre of hydrogen gas.
***31 A steel ball bearing is placed in a bowl of mercury.
container (iii)
(a) Given that the density of steel is 8.0 g/cm3 and that of mercury 13.6 g cm3,
calculate what fraction of the volume of the sphere is submerged.
(b) Suppose we pour some water on top of the mercury. Does the steel ball sink
more deeply or less deeply in the mercury?
***32 Crew members attempt to escape from a damaged submarine 100 m below the
surface.
(a) What force must they apply to a pop-out hatch, which is 1.2 m by 0.60 m,
to push it out?
all containers have the
same size base. (b) What mass is this equivalent to lifting? Could a lone sailor manage? Assume
the density of sea water is 1025 kg m3.
***33 Three containers are set up and filled to the same height with water (Figure 7.17).
(a) Which has the greatest volume of water in it?
Figure 7.18
For question 34. (b) Which has the greatest weight of water in it?
(c) Which has the greatest mass of water in it?
(d) Which has the greatest pressure at the bottom?
***34 A can 40 cm tall has small holes in it at 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm from the base
(see Figure 7.18). It is filled with water. Where do the streams of water strike
the ground? To make this calculation you need to use Bernoulis equation, which
can be reduced to: pressure = gh = 12 v 2. This reduces further to v = 2gh ,
where h equals the height of water above the hole, and v, the velocity of the
water out of the hole.
**35 Imagine a glass of water sitting on a table with a few cubes of ice floating in it.
The water is level with the top of the glass and the ice projects above the top. As
time goes by the ice melts. Will the water overflow the glass?
Hydrostatics 181
***36 Consider two balloons of equal volume (400 000 L) and mass (200 kg), one filled
with hydrogen, the other with helium. Helium is twice as dense as hydrogen
(hydrogen 0.09 g/L; helium 0.18 g/L). The density of air is 1.3 g/L.
(a) How do their lifting abilities compare?
(b) Will the hydrogen balloon be able to lift twice weight as the helium balloon?
Explain.
***37 Two identical buckets are filled to the brim with water but one has a block of
wood floating in it. Which bucket is the heavier?
***38 When a cork is placed in a bucket of water it floats with one-quarter of its
volume submerged. Imagine we attach a small spring to the cork and attach
it to the inside bottom of the bucket and adjust it so that it is just submerged Figure 7.19
(the top of the cork is now level with the surface of the water) as in Figure 7.19. For question 38.
The weight of the cork and tension in the spring now equal the upthrust.
The bucket is dropped off a tall building. What would happen to the cork during
the fall?
***39 The Guinness Book of Records lists the greatest ocean descent as that of the US
Navy underwater research vessel (a bathyscaphe) the Trieste, which reached a
depth of 10 916 m on January 23 1960. It says that the pressure at this depth
was 1187 kgf/cm2 and the temperature 3C. A kgf is a non-SI unit known as a
kilogram force. This is the force of gravity acting on 1 kg. Convert the pressure
to pascals and calculate the average density of seawater above the bathyscaphe.
Neglect atmospheric pressure.
***40 Calculate the difference in blood pressure between the brain and the foot of a
person of height 1.83 m. The density of blood is 1.06 103 kg m3.
***41 The human lungs can operate against a pressure difference of about one-twentieth
of an atmosphere. If a diver uses a snorkel for breathing, how far below the
surface can he or she swim?
***42 About one-third of the body of a person swimming in the Dead Sea will be above
the water line. Assuming that the density of a human is 0.98 g cm3, find the
density of the water in the Dead Sea.
***43 Imagine a U-tube containing some mercury. The mercury level is equal on both
sides of the tube. An equal volume of water is added to one side. How will their
levels now compare? Make a statement about the relative heights of the two
columns.
***44 Prove that hydrogen provides only an extra 8% lift compared to helium for a
balloon of mass 2.13 kg, even though helium is twice as dense as hydrogen.
See Example 2 on page 177 for density data.
***45 A 20 cm diameter spherical beach-ball floats with 1 cm submerged. Calculate
the mass of the ball. Youll need extra maths formulas.
***46 A cylindrical log 1 m long and 20 cm diameter floats with 8 cm submerged.
Calculate its mass and density. Extra maths formulas required.

UNIT 03
Energy & Momentum
CHAPTER 08
Momentum
8.1 EXPLOSIONS, COLLISIONS AND BALLET DANCING
Ballet, bullets, bombs, baseball, boxing and binary stars have something in common. They all
involve the combination of mass and velocity. They all involve momentum.
These are some questions that a study of momentum can help answer:
Would you rather be hit by a 1 g ball-bearing travelling at 100 m s1 or by a 100 g
ball travelling at 1 m s1?
Which would hurt more being tackled by a lightweight footballer travelling at high
speed or by a big fat one travelling at low speed?
Police bullets are designed to stay inside their targets and not go through them. How?
You are standing in the middle of a frictionless frozen pond. Someone with a little
knowledge of physics says that you cant get to the edge because of the laws of
momentum. What can you do to prove him wrong?
A cat that falls out of a window upside-down can right itself and land on its feet.
How can this be if it has nothing to push against while falling? Whats the advantage
of landing on its feet anyway?
When you shoot a bullet at a watermelon suspended on a string, the melon moves
towards you. How can this be and what has it to do with the assassination of JFK?
8.2 CENTRE OF MASS

Physicists love to look at something complicated and find in it something simple and
familiar. If you toss a cricket bat into the air its motion as it turns is more complicated than
that of a cricket ball. A diver who executes a somersault has an even more complicated
motion still. Every part of the body moves in a different way from every other part, so you
cannot represent the body as a single particle as you can with a ball. However, if you look
closely, you will find that there is one special point that moves in a simple path a
parabola much as the ball does. This point is called the centre of mass. It is the point
at which the whole mass of an object is considered to be concentrated for the purpose of
applying the laws of motion.
Figure 8.1
Activity 8.1 CENTRE OF MASS The balance point of a baseball bat.
You can locate the centre of mass of a bat by finding the point at which it balances on an
outstretched finger.
1 If you can get hold of some different bats or racquets, find the balance point of
each and mark it with a felt pen. Draw diagrams to show the location.

2 How does the centre of mass compare with the centre of percussion as discovered
in Chapter 6? (Recall letting the bat swing like a pendulum and finding its
effective length.)
3 Hold a ruler horizontally on the outstretched index fingers of both hands as in
Figure 8.2. Slowly bring your fingers in from the ends of the ruler and note
where they end up. Does it matter where you start your fingers from? Why?
Figure 8.2
Where do your fingers meet?
finger
(right hand)
finger
(left hand)
Imagine you place a finger
under each end of a ruler and a
coin is placed on one end. You
pull away both fingers and the
ruler and coin fall together
staying in contact. But if you
just pull away the finger
under the coin something
odd
happens.
What and why? Try it. finish at centre
object
For regular shaped objects like a metre ruler, the centre of mass is at the midpoint. Thats
why you pick up a plank of wood in the middle. For irregular objects, though, the centre
of mass can be found by letting the object hang from a pivot hole or point and drawing a
vertical mark on the object. When this is done several times, the point at which the lines
cross marks the centre of mass.
Figure 8.3
Locating the centre of mass. cord
centre
of
mass
For more regular rigid bodies, some simple principles can be used to find the centre of
mass mathematically. Consider a set of weights on the ends of a steel bar (Figure 8.4).
Figure 8.4 10 kg 10 kg
C
Momentum 185
Intuitively, the centre of mass is at the centre of the bar. In this case the products of
each weight and its distance from the pivot point are equal. When the masses are unequal,
obviously the centre of mass is closer to the heavier mass. Children use the ideas of centre of There are several types of
mass when operating a seesaw. The seesaw has a fixed pivot point. If two children of very crooked dice used by cheats.
For each one described, deduce
different mass get on, the heavier child has to sit closer to the pivot point. This positions the
why they are crooked:
centre of mass of the system of two children at the pivot point.
1 Greens Load (1880) two
This suggests an inverse relationship between the weights or masses of the children and spots drilled out and mercury
their distance from the centre of mass: added.
2 Tapping dice hollow centre
F w1 s2 filled with mercury but with a
=
F w2 s1 small tube to one corner. Tap
to make them crooked.
3 Bevelled rounded on some
or, in general: edges.
4 Slick one surface highly
F w1 s 1 = F w2 s 2 polished.
5 Hot iron a ridge along one
edge.
Example 6 Capped one face capped
Masses of 4 kg and 10 kg are on the ends of a 1.2 m long bar as shown in Figure 8.5. with rubber.
Determine the centre of mass of the system.
raised edge
4 kg 10 kg Figure 8.5 hot iron
c
s 1.2 s
Solution
Point C is located s metres from the 4 kg mass and (1.2 s) metres from the 10 kg mass.
For the bar to balance:
F1 s1 = F2 s2
40 s = 100(1.2 s) using g = 10 m s 2
s = 0.86 m It is easy to stand a pencil up
on its base but impossible to
stand it up on its point.
Later in this chapter, the product of F s in similar situations will be defined as torque
But why? What if you could put
and discussed in detail as it applies to rotating bodies. it in a sealed container free of
air currents and arranged it so
Motion of the centre of mass that its centre of mass was
exactly over the point could
Knowledge of the motion and properties of the centre of mass gives some good insights into you do it then? Still no!
everyday phenomena. But what is the physics behind
the failure?
The grand jet
When you do a long jump, chances are that your body will follow a parabolic path like a
baseball thrown in from the outfield. But when a skilled ballet dancer does a split leap across
the stage in a grand jet, the path taken by her head and torso is nearly horizontal during
much of the jump. She seems to be floating across the stage. The audience may not know
Newtons laws of motion, but they can always sense that something magical has happened.
The secret is that she raises her arms and legs as she jumps upward. These actions shift her
centre of mass upward through her body. Although the shifting centre of mass faithfully
follows a parabolic path across the stage, its movement relative to the body decreases the
height that would be attained by her head in a normal jump. The result is that the head and
torso follow a nearly horizontal path.

path of head
Figure 8.6
A grand jet.
path of centre
of mass
The Fosbury flop

The most successful high jumpers are tall, long-legged athletes because their centre of mass
Figure 8.7
In a Fosbury flop, the centre of is further off the ground and so does not have to be lifted as far as that of a shorter jumper
mass may actually pass under when clearing the bar. The high jumper must try to adopt a body position at take-off that
the bar. keeps the centre of mass as high as possible. The momentum acquired during the run-up is
modified in the last two steps before take-off. The jumper sinks down on the second last step
and then comes erect on the take-off step so that the body has an initial upward velocity. The
time that the jumpers foot is in contact with the ground on this last step is called the take-
off time and is of the order of 0.12 to 0.17 s. The jumper has to also rotate so that the body
centre of
mass
is horizontal as it goes over the bar. This is the Fosbury flop, a technique popularised by
American high jumper Dick Fosbury who developed the style and used it to win the 1968
Olympic gold medal. The technique has the advantage that the centre of mass passes under
the bar even though the jumper curls over the top. For example, if the high jump bar was set
at 2.07 m it is estimated that the jumpers centre of mass was only lifted from 1.27 m at take-
off to 1.95 m when clearing the bar. Jumpers using the older scissor jump or western-roll style
would have had to jump at least an extra 12 cm to clear the bar.
Questions
1 A 2.5 kg mass and a 4 kg mass are placed 1.5 m apart. Where is their centre of mass?
2 Where is the centre of mass of the Earth (mass 6 1024 kg) and the Moon
(mass 7.4 1022 kg) when they are 3.8 108 m apart?
MOMENTUM 8.3
Momentum is another term like velocity that gets used in newspapers and magazines in
strange ways. Journalists write that protests against whaling are gaining momentum or about
a truckies blockade having a momentum of its own. However, what physicists mean by
momentum is to do with mass and velocity.
The product of mass and velocity is called momentum (Latin momentum = movement).
It is a useful quantity to describe the motion of an object.
Momentum = mass velocity

p = mv
Momentum is a vector quantity, being the product of a scalar (mass) and a vector
(velocity). The unit of momentum does not have a special name. The unit is kg m s1 and is
the same as N s, and this is often used. The direction of momentum is the same as the
direction of velocity.
Momentum 187
Example 1 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Calculate the momentum of a 2 kg bowling ball travelling at 8 m s1 south.
Can you jump off a chair onto
Solution the floor while holding a cup
full of water without spilling
p = mv = 2 8 = 16 kg m s 1 south any? Plan how you should land
to do this. Hmmm! It sounds
Example 2 good in theory but
A proton of mass 1.67 1027 kg is accelerated from 3 104 m s1 north to 3 105 m s1
north. Calculate the change in momentum.
Solution
Change in momentum = final momentum initial momentum.
p = p f p i
= mv mu
Final momentum = mv = 1.67 1027 3 105 = 5.0 1022 kg m s1 north.

Initial momentum = mu = 1.67 1027 3 104 = 5.0 1023 kg m s1 north.
Change in momentum = 5.0 1022 kg m s1 5.0 1023 kg m s1
= 4.5 1022 kg m s1 north.
Questions
3 Calculate the magnitude of the momentum of the following moving objects:
(a) a 1000 g bowling ball moving at 1.6 m s1; (b) a 2.0 t car moving at 15 m s1;
(c) the Earth in its journey around the Sun. The Earths mass is 6 1024 kg and
its radius of orbit is 1.5 1011 m.
4 A cricket ball of mass 200 g travelling at 20 m s1 east is struck directly back at
30 m s1 west. Calculate the change in momentum. Hint: the change in velocity
is not 10 m s1. Can you see why?
8.4 ACTING ON IMPULSE

In 1687 Isaac Newton wrote that the force on an object determined the rate of change of the
quantity of motion. He expressed this in his second law of motion, which can be written as
F = ma. But it can also be expressed in terms of momentum.
vu
The acceleration can be replaced by to give:
t
F = m(v u) = mv mu = change in momentum

t t time
Hence the rate of change of momentum is equal to the external force causing the change. This
can be rearranged as:
Ft = mv mu or Ft = p Imagine you are standing on

some bathroom scales and you
bend your knees quickly.
The product Ft is called the impulse (Latin pulsus = to beat or drive). Impulse depends
Predict what will happen to the
on the size of the force and for how long it is applied. It is also equal to the change in
scale reading. But why?
momentum. The unit for impulse is Newton second (N s), which is the same as kg m s1. Some
books use the symbol I for impulse but we will leave it as Ft.

Figure 8.8
Impulse is the area under an F/t graph. Forcetime graphs
Impulse is also equal to the area under the graph (see Figure 8.8).
10 Most impacts involve forces that do not remain constant.
F (N)
Example
5 A graph showing how force varies with time as a stationary 57 g ball is struck by a racquet is
shown in Figure 8.9.
0 Calculate (a) the impulse; (b) the final velocity of the ball.
0 2 4 6 8
t (s)
Solution
(a) The area under the graph is a measure of F t, that is, impulse. In this case the
Ft = 10 8 = 40 Ns impulse is approximated by the dotted triangle:
2
A = b h = 3.2 10 2.5 10 = 4.0 N s (south)

3 3
2 2
50 (b) Ft = m(v u)
F (N)
4 = 0.057(v 0)
25 v = 70 m s 1 south.
0
0 5 10
t (s)
15 20 Questions
5 For how long must a frictional force of 5.6 N act in order to bring to rest a mass
Ft = 50 5 = 125 Ns of 2.4 kg moving at 6.0 m s1 north?
2
6 A car of mass 1200 kg accelerates at 5.5 m s2 for 12 s. Determine the impulse
imparted to the car.
CONSERVATION OF LINEAR MOMENTUM 8.5

Figure 8.9 When you throw a ball, shoot a bullet or give someone a push you tend to move backward.
The force exerted on a tennis ball during Newtons third law of motion explained that action and reaction were equal and opposite
a serve can be represented graphically.
forces. A study of momentum can describe the motion of interacting bodies mathematically.
The two most common interactions we can study are explosions and collisions. Well start
Force to the south (kN)
with explosions because they are a bit simpler.

2.5
2.0
1.5 Explosions
1.0 An explosion can be thought of as a single object separating into two or more fragments.
0.5 The word explode was first used to mean burst with destructive force in the nineteenth
century when a mathematical treatment of explosions became necessary. Prior to that, the
0
1 2 3 Latin verb explodere meant to drive off the theatre stage with hisses, boos, loud noises
Time (ms) and claps. It came from ex- meaning out and plaudere meaning clap. Many scientific words
started off meaning something else.
Figure 8.10 Initial Final
m1 m2
cm
bomb at rest
Momentum 189
Consider a 10 kg bomb at rest that explodes into two fragments (Figure 8.10). If a 4 kg piece
(m1) travels west at 15 m s1 (v1), then the 6 kg piece (m2) would have moved in the
opposite direction (at a speed v2). As there was no external unbalanced forces acting on the A very lightweight boat 24 m
bomb (all forces were internal), we have a closed system and there would be no change in long and mass of 30 kg lies still
the total momentum of the system. This is called the law of conservation of momentum. In on a quiet pond. A 90 kg man
walks from bow (front) to stern.
a closed system, the change in momentum is zero. That is,
How far does the boat move
relative to the pond? The answer
p = 0 or p initial = p final
is not 72 m.
(m 1 + m 2)u = m 1v 1 + m 2v 2
10 0 = 4 15 + 6 v 2
v2 = 10 m s 1 (the negative sign means east)
Example
A boy on rollerskates is travelling along at 8 m s1. He has a mass of 60 kg and is carrying his
school bag of mass 10 kg. He throws the bag directly forward at 20 m s1 relative to the
ground. Calculate the boys speed after the explosion.
Solution
The boy and the bag have initial velocities in the positive direction. The final velocity of the Photo 8.1
bag is also positive. Meteorite crater.
p initial = p final
(m 1 + m 2)u = m 1v 1 + m 2v 2
(60 + 10) 8 = 60 v 1 + 10 20
560 = 60 v 1 + 200
v1 = 6 m s 1
The positive direction means that the boy would continue to move forward.
Relationships such as this can be applied to all sorts of explosions a cannon or rifle
being fired, a bomb exploding, a heart pumping a pulse of blood, a hose squirting water and
even a nucleus giving off radioactive particles.
Cases in which the bodies explode in a straight line are not that common, however.
Explosions in two dimensions will be dealt with later.
Questions N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Shooters who want to reduce
7 Two children at rest push off from each other in a swimming pool. One with a
the recoil of their rifles use a
mass of 50 kg moves east at 1.5 m s1 and the other who has a mass of 45 kg
variety of anti-recoil devices.
moves to the west. What is the second childs velocity?
The simplest is to vent the
8 A girl of mass 50 kg is stationary on an ice rink. She throws a 1.0 kg parcel
exhaust gases out sideways
horizontally at 5.0 m s1. At what velocity does the girl move?
instead of leaving them trapped
in the barrel. One effective
Collisions method involves drilling a hole
in the rifle butt (the wooden
In everyday language, a collision occurs when objects crash into each other. Although we will
shoulder piece) and inserting a
refine that definition, it conveys the meaning well enough. Some familiar collisions are:
rod of steel about 2 cm in
the Creek meteorite crater in Australia
diameter. Better still, inventive
a billiard ball being struck by a cue
shooters use a length of steel
a boxer punching a body bag 3
water pipe 4 filled with mercury
hammering a nail into a piece of wood
and capped. So how does this
gas molecules bouncing off each other.
help?
Car collisions
The safety of the passengers in a car during a collision also depends on the time interval in
which the moving car is brought to a stop. To reduce the force of the impact, we have to

increase the time it takes. Manufacturers do this by making the front and rear of cars
collapsible. These crumple zones must be neither too hard nor too soft. They must progres-
A superball is tied to a 1.5 m sively collapse so that the time of the collision is made as long as possible. Other safety
string and suspended vertically features in a car are:
from a hook. It is pulled back
air bags
and allowed to strike a wooden
safety belts: inertia reel and self-tensioning
block standing on the floor. The
experiment is repeated with a
antilocking brakes
lump of plasticine of the same impact-absorbing bumper bars
mass as the ball. One knocks the a collapsible steering column
block over, one doesnt. a rigid cabin compartment
Which is which and why? a soft dashboard instead of metal or wood.
Most of these are based on the principle that the longer it takes for your body to come
to rest, the smaller the force your body has to stand. While the change in momentum is
usually the same no matter how you crash, it is better to suffer a small force for a long time
than a large force for a short time.
Does your family own a large four-wheel drive vehicle? It might be interesting to apply
1.5 m
your knowledge of physics to the comparative safety of these vehicles in a collision, given
the fact that they are very solid and rigid with only limited crumple zones.
ball
Types of collisions
Collisions can be grouped into two types:
Rebound, where objects bounce off each other (e.g. gas molecules or billiard balls).
wood block
Coupled, where objects remain locked together (e.g. a bullet in a target).
Rebound
Consider a collision between two masses m1 and m2 with initial velocities u1 and u2
respectively.
Figure 8.11
u1 u2 = 0 v1 ? v2
m1 m2 m1 m2
m1 collides with m2 at rest m1 bounces off m2
For the law of conservation of momentum to hold, the initial momentum must equal the final
momentum:
m 1u 1 + m 2u 2 = m 1v 1 + m 2v 2
Example
A cart with a mass of 2 kg travelling at 6 m s1 collides with another cart of mass 0.4 kg
travelling in the same direction at 2 m s1. It bounces off as shown in Figure 8.12. After
impact, the 2 kg cart travels at 3 m s1 in the same direction. Calculate the velocity of the
0.4 kg trolley after the collision.
Figure 8.12
6 m s1 2 m s1 3 m s1 v=?
2 kg 0.4 kg 2 kg 0.4 kg
Before collision After collision
Momentum 191
Solution N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
m 1u 1 + m 2u 2 = m 1v 1 + m 2v 2 A superball is placed on top of a
2 6 + 0.4 2 = 2 3 + 0.4 v 2 tennis ball and they are dropped
v 2 = +17 m s 1 together.
(the positive sign indicates that the trolley is moving in the same direction as before). Predict what happened wow,
what a funny rebound and
why?
C o u p l e d o r s t i ck i n g t o g e t h e r
superball
When objects stick together or are joined together they are said to be coupled (Latin copula
= to bond). In a collision where the objects become coupled, the law of conservation of
momentum still holds but the mass of the combined body after the collision is equal to the
sum of the individual masses of the colliding bodies.
Some examples of coupled collisions are:
an arrow sticking into its target
two cars colliding head-on.
Example
A supermarket trolley loaded with shopping has a mass of 60 kg. It rolls across the floor at
4 m s1 and collides with an empty trolley of mass 25 kg, which was stationary. They become large
fastened together and roll on as one. Calculate the velocity of the two trolleys when locked ball
together.
Solution
m 1u 1 + m 2u 2 = m 1v 1 + m 2v 2
m 1u 1 + m 2u 2 = (m 1 + m 2)v (as v 1 = v 2)
60 4 + 25 0 = 85 v
v = 2.8 m s 1
Practical use of coupled collisions

Figure 8.13
safety screen Measuring the velocity of an air-rifle
pellet in the laboratory.
toilet roll
path of pellet
50 cm air gun
linear air track
One way of measuring bullet speeds is to make use of a coupled collision. If an air-rifle
pellet is shot into a soft absorbent target (such as a toilet roll) that is attached to a linear
air-track glider, the glider moves away under the impact of the pellet. By measuring the time
it takes the glider to move say 50 cm, the velocity of the glider can be determined. These data
can be used to calculate the velocity of the pellet.
Example
When a 0.45 g air-rifle pellet is fired into a target attached to a glider on a linear air track,
the glider moves 50 cm in 3.8 seconds. Calculate the velocity of the pellet. The glider and
target have a combined mass of 643 g.

a a
A fly crashes into the front
windscreen of a train and
reverses its direction. Therefore,
at one instant its velocity is
zero but as it is squashed onto
the window, the windows
velocity must also be zero
for a short time.
How could a fly stop a speeding
locomotive?
An egg timer is placed on an
electronic balance and its mass
recorded when all the sand is at
the bottom. It is inverted.
As the sand falls, will it weigh
weight
the same or less?
same weight?
Solution

10
11
Mass of pellet = 0.45 g = 0.000 45 kg.
Velocity of glider = s = 0.5 = 0.13 m s1.
Figure 8.14
12
4 m s1
0.6 kg
OF MOMENTUM
t 3.8
u pellet
mpellet
pi = pf
mpellet u pellet = mtarget v target
= mtarget v target = 0.643 0.13
0.000 45
= 186 m s1
Note: the final mass of the glider and target should include the mass of the embedded pellet
but as it is negligible it can be ignored in this case. Of course, if the mass of the embedded
object was large then it would have to be included.
In the next chapter a device called a ballistic pendulum, used for measuring the speed of
high-speed bullets, will be described.
Questions
9 An object of mass 5 kg moving with a velocity of 10 m s1 strikes another of
mass 3 kg at rest. The two masses continue in motion together. Find their
common velocity.
An archer fires an arrow of mass 96 g with a velocity of 120 m s1 at a target of
mass 1500 g hanging from a long piece of string from a tall tree. If the arrow
becomes embedded in the target, with what velocity does the target move?
Two carts, one of mass 0.6 kg and the other of mass 0.8 kg, are moving north
along a smooth horizontal surface with speeds of 4 m s1 and 2 m s1 respectively,
as shown in Figure 8.14. After the collision, the 0.6 kg mass continues to travel
north but with a speed of 1.2 m s1. What is the speed of the 0.8 kg mass?
Initially
2 m s1
0.8 kg
(a) Calculate the velocity of the pellet.

1.2 m s1
0.6 kg
Finally
A 0.41 g air-rifle pellet is fired into a target made up of a 170 g toilet roll
(b) What additional information would you need to calculate the recoil speed of
the air rifle?
R E A L - L I F E E X A M P L E S O F C O N S E R VAT I O N
day life but often they need pointing out to become obvious.
8.6
Examples of the concept and uses of the law of conservation of momentum abound in every-
v=?
0.8 kg
attached to a glider of 350 g. The target slides along a linear air track a distance
of 50 cm in 2.8 s (refer back to Figure 8.13).
Momentum 193
Sports
Both collisions and explosions are features of many sports.
Explosions: firing an arrow, throwing a ball or jumping into the air.
Collisions: hitting a ball, karate chopping a brick or punching a bag.
Sporting explosions
In many sports the athlete is striving to deliver the maximum momentum to the ball or other
projectile such as a discus or javelin. Sports physicists use special platform balances that
measure the force being exerted on the ground. Figure 8.15 shows the forcetime graph of a
shotputter. When the force is in the direction of the ball it is called positive; when it is in the
opposite direction it is called negative. Obviously it is the negative force that provides the
propulsion force.
Figure 8.15
Changes in force during a shotput
throw. Note how the downward
(negative) force changes to an
upward force as the ball leaves
the hand.
+ 400 1
-
2
x 0.17 x 400
= 34 N s
Force (N)
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

B D
C
A 250 x 0.41 = 103 N s Time (s)
- 400
The total impulse is the total area under the curve. The first 0.4 seconds have a negative
impulse of 103 N s, whereas the final 0.2 second period is +34 N s. The total impulse is
69 N s.
Total impulse (= p) = 69 N s
p = mv
For a 4 kg shot the velocity would be 17.3 m s1.
Sporting collisions
In some sports, the player has a racquet or bat to strike the ball and momentum is transferred
to the ball. In badminton and squash, players flick their wrists to increase the momentum of
the light head of the racquet by making it move very fast. In tennis, where the balls mass is
much greater than the shuttle in badminton, this technique is not effective. Players must
keep their wrists stiff as they swing at the ball so that the racquet acts as an extension of
their body and the effective striking mass is that of the racquet, arm and shoulder.
Table 8.1 shows typical velocities of balls hit in various sports.

Ta b l e 8 . 1 T Y P I C A L V E L O C I T I E S O F BA L L S H I T F R O M R E S T I N A
VA R I E T Y O F S P O RT S *
BALL BALLS BALLS VELOCITY STRIKERS VELOCITY IMPACT TIME
MASS (m s 1 ) (m s 1 ) (s)
(kg) BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER
Baseball 0.15 0 39 31 27 1.35 103
Football (punt) 0.42 0 28 18 12 8.0 103
Golf ball (drive) 0.047 0 69 51 35 1.25 103
Squash ball (serve) 0.032 0 49 44 34 3.0 103
Tennis ball (serve) 0.057 0 51 38 33 4.0 103
* Also shown is the impact time of the strike and the velocity of the striking mass before and after impact.
In each case the effective striking mass can be calculated and you can see how much of the
players body is added to the mass of the racquet.
Example
The actual mass of the tennis racquet used in Table 8.1 was 0.40 kg. Calculate its effective
mass.
Solution
p initial = p final
m ball u ball + m racquet u racquet = m ball v ball + m racquet v racquet
0.057 0 + m racquet 38 = 0.057 51 + m racquet 33
5 m racquet = 2.91
m racquet = 0.58 kg (the racquets mass was increased from
0.4 kg to 0.58 kg)
Baseball
The 1993 World Championship was determined by an otherwise perfect swing of the bat but
it was just 1 mm too high and a less than perfect shot resulted in a run out. Theres not much
room for error.
What baseball players are looking for is both high bat speed and good control. The prob-
lem is, the higher the bat speed the less control the player has over the accuracy of the hit.
In major league games, the ball strikes the bat after coming from the pitchers mound 17 m
away in 0.45 s. It collides with a bat just 7 cm wide, which is being swung at 100 km/h so
theres not much time for decision-making. The ball is squashed to half its diameter and
leaves the bat after 0.001 s contact time. Youd wonder how anyone could have control over
the placement of the ball. But they do, although the difference between a foul and a hit over
second base is only 0.01 s in timing. What a game!
The role of momentum in a good hit is crucial. Players want to give their bats high
momentum and they can do this by increasing the mass of the bat or by swinging it faster.
Legendary baseball champion Babe Ruth used heavy bats, often as heavy as 52 ounces
(1.5 kg). Todays players use bats of about 850 g, but Ruth had exceptional strength and
could whip his bat around at high speed. However, changing from a bat of six times a balls
mass to one of seven times its mass adds little to the transfer of momentum to the ball. What
it does is slow down the swing considerably.
But how can bat speed be increased? Watch the lead-off hitters, the small players who
must get on base so the power hitters can drive them in. Lead-off hitters need to be able to
punch the ball to the opposite field or find a hole in the in-field. They need excellent control
and good bat speed. They choke-up on the bat sliding their hands up higher on the
handle, making it easier and faster to swing.
Momentum 195
But a short bat is not long enough to reach those fast balls on the outside of the plate.
A better solution is to use a lighter bat and, over the past few decades, bat masses have
decreased to the current 800900 g. But as the wood is thinner, the risk of breaking is also
increased, so aluminium and composite plastics (graphite, fibre glass) are used in most games
except major league, where aluminium is too fast and dangerous.
Squash gets fast too but because the ball heats up during the game. A hot ball has
a greater change in momentum than a cold one. The physics of that is interesting to
contemplate.
Questions
13 (a) Calculate the force imparted to a 145 g ball during a hit as described above.
Assume the rebound speed of the ball from the bat is the same as the
impact speed of the ball.
(b) Assuming a player can supply the same momentum to bats of different mass,
calculate the speed of an 850 g bat if he can swing a 1500 g bat at 30 m s1.
Forensic science
In the course of police investigations into crimes, physicists often play a vital role. Much of
the scientific evidence in a forensic investigation (Latin forum = of the court) is biological
or chemical in nature but when car accidents or guns are involved, the physicists who are
experts in kinematics or ballistics are called in.
One famous case concerns the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
JFK was shot in the head and neck by high powered rifle bullets. Movie film of the event
shows that his head tilted forward as he was struck in the back of the neck and then his
head moved rapidly back as he suffered a head wound. Assassination buffs have split into
two groups, depending on whether they believe in a single lone nut gunman or a conspiracy
between two gunmen. The lone nutters believe all wounds were caused by a lone gunman (Lee
Harvey Oswald) firing from the sixth floor of a building behind the Presidents car. The con-
spiracy theorists believe that Oswald was responsible for the neck wound but another gunman
firing from the grassy knoll to the front right of the car was responsible for the fatal head
wound. No video of the assassination exists, the only clear film of the events being made by
Abraham Zapruder on a hand-held Super-8 movie camera from a distance of about 60 m.
People who claim that JFK was shot from the front say that, because his head moved
backward, a second gunman fired from the front (from the grassy knoll) (see Figure 8.16).
Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Luis Alvarez contradicts this. He has shown that when an object
such as a taped-up watermelon (simulating a head) is shot, the melon generally moves
towards the gun as chunks are blown out the other side. Dubbed the jet effect, Dr Alvarez
showed that the matter blown out of the melon carried with it more momentum than was
Figure 8.16
brought in by the bullet. This is similar to the motion of a rocket as jet fuel is ejected and is The Presidential limousine: the Kennedys
a good example of conservation of momentum. Other physicists further argued that it was in the rear and the Connallys in the
the shot by Lee Harvey Oswald to the back of the neck that caused JFKs arms to fly up under centre.
his chin and his body to jerk backward in a nervous reaction known as the
Thorburn Position. Either way, physicists agreed that the head shot came from
behind JFK and have dismissed the conspiracy theory. Oswald used a $12.50
Italian Carcarno hunting rifle that fired high velocity (670 m s1) full-metal-jacket
bullets, each with a mass of 10.37 g. By the time they reached the President,
the bullets had lost momentum and were travelling at 545 m s1. Imagine such
a bullet striking a melon and remaining embedded in it while simultaneously Oswald's shot Alleged shot from
blowing a jet of melon out the other side. The equation becomes: grassy knoll
momentum of bullet = momentum of remains of melon and bullet + momentum of jet

m bv b = m rv r + m jv j

If the momentum of the bullet (0.010 37 545 = 5.65 kg m s1) was less than the momen-
tum of the jet, then the momentum of the remains of the melon with the embedded bullet
would have to be negative, and hence the velocity would also have to be negative. This
means the remains of the melon would have moved toward the gunman. The lone nutter
theory is supported.
Questions
14 A 10.0 g Carcarno bullet is fired with a muzzle velocity of 545 m s1 at a 3.0 kg
watermelon and remains embedded in it.
(a) Calculate the motion of the melon if there is no jet exiting the other side.
(b) Calculate the motion of the melon if a 300 g jet of melon exits the rear of
the melon at a speed of 35 m s1.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E A c t i v i t y 8 . 2 K E N N E DY O N T H E I N T E R N E T
When you blow through a bent
1 If you have access to the Internet, try reading the newsgroup alt.assassination.jfk,
drinking straw it recoils away
which deals with the Kennedy investigation. Youll meet lots of cranks but also
from the jet of air.
some physicists who will discuss ballistics and forensic science.
But when you suck air in does
the reverse happen? I think not! 2 If you cant get to sleep, try one of the JFK Web pages. There are dozens of
Explain that one in terms of them some favour the conspiracy theory, the others favour the lone gunman
momentum. Try it and see. theory. Try www.jfklancer.com for a start. Failing that, try joining a chat room.
The chat times are listed on the Web pages. You never know, someone might try
blow to sell you a Carcarno.
Activity 8.3 HIRE A VIDEO

Oliver Stones movie JFK starring Kevin Costner is out on video. Stone takes a different
line from the one above but still examines the evidence in a scientific way. If you can
recoil
hire it, look for the discussion on the ballistics evidence. Make notes and compare it to
the discussion opposite.
Propulsion of rockets
air jet
A rocket moves forward because burning gases are ejected at high speed behind it. If an
engine supplies a constant force (thrust), the acceleration of the rocket will increase because
the total mass of the rocket decreases as fuel and oxygen are burnt. Have you noticed how
much faster an inflated balloon goes at the end of its journey than when you first let it go?
Many people think that rockets only work if they have something to push against. But
they work in space where there is no air. The momentum of the exhaust gases is equal in
magnitude but opposite in direction to the gain in momentum of the rocket.
Example
Figure 8.17 The German V-2 rockets used to bomb London in the Second World War had a mass of
12 000 kg and produced thrust from exhaust gases that were ejected at the rate of 1500 kg
every second and at a speed of 170 m s1. Calculate (a) the initial forward force on the rocket
(thrust); (b) the net force if the rocket was fired vertically; (c) the initial acceleration.
rocket
Solution
Consider the rocket to be made up of two exploding parts: the rocket itself and the exhaust
p = 0 gases (Figure 8.17). Initially both components are at rest and the momentum of each is zero.
When fired, the momentum of each is equal and opposite.
exhaust
(a) p rocket = p exhaust
p rocket = m e v e
= 1500 170 = 255 000 kg m s 1
Momentum 197
The interaction time for this explosion is 1 s, so the impulse (Ft) equals this change in
momentum from zero to 10 000 kg m s1.
F = 255 000 = 255 000 N (or kg m s 2)

1 second
(b) The net force is the result of the thrust (upward) and the weight (downward):
F net = F upthrust F w = 255 000 120 000 = 135 000 N (upward)
(c) Initial acceleration: Fnet = ma, hence a = F/m = 135 000/12 000 = 11.25 m s2.
As these rockets burnt fuel their mass decreased, and hence their acceleration increased.
After 65 s all fuel had been burnt and the rockets were moving at 2 km s1.
Such rockets were particularly dangerous because there was no warning sound. The whine
of the rocket engines came after the sound of the explosion on landing because they travelled
faster than the speed of sound.
C O N S E R VAT I O N O F M O M E N T U M I N T WO
8.7
DIMENSIONS
Rarely is the world as simple as portrayed in the previous discussion. We live in a three-
dimensional world and interactions occur in three dimensions. You have been introduced to
momentum in one dimension so that the principles can be seen. Now it is time to venture
into the two-dimensional world Flatland. Interactions occurring in the 3-D world are
beyond the scope of this book. Wait until first-year university physics for that.
It doesnt matter whether it is in one, two or three dimensions momentum is always
Figure 8.18
conserved. That is, total momentum before the collision equals total momentum after the Vector diagram showing the momentum
collision. of each of the three fragments of the
exploding spray can in the example
to the left. When placed head-to-tail,
Explosions in two dimensions the vector arrows p1, p2 and p3 must
add to zero.
An object at rest has zero momentum. If it explodes into several pieces, the pieces will
still have a zero total momentum. If it is moving when it explodes or separates, then the 70 g
fragments will have a total momentum equal to the momentum before the explosion.
v=?
Example p3
p1
An empty spray can of mass 120 g rests on top of a fire and explodes into three fragments. 30 g at 60 m/s
One 30 g fragment travels east at 60 m s1 and another 20 g fragment goes south at spray
100 m s1. (See Figure 8.18.) Calculate the velocity of the third piece. can
at rest
Solution p2 20 g at 100 m/s
The law of conservation of momentum states that the final momentum will be equal to
the initial momentum, which in this case is zero. Hence, the sum of the three momentum
vectors after the explosion will also be zero. That is, the three vectors will form a closed
triangle when added head to tail. All we need do is draw the two known vectors and fill in the
remaining gap (p3) to see the missing vector. p1
1.8 kg m/s
Using Pythagoras theorem, p3 equals 2.7 kg m s1. As the mass is 70 g, the velocity must p1
be 38.4 m s1 in a direction of N42W. This angle is sometimes expressed as 318 True. Can 1.8 kg m/s
you see why?
p2 2.0 kg m/s
p3
p2 2.0 kg m/s
p3

Questions
15 A bomb, initially at rest, explodes into three fragments as shown in Figure 8.19.
Calculate the mass of the third fragment.
Figure 8.19 1
For question 15.
30 kg at 50 m s1
fragment 3 at 80 m s1 50
3
40
20 kg at 100 m s1
16 A radioactive nucleus of mass 5 1026

kg is at rest and emits two neutrons,
each of mass 1.6 1027 kg, at right angles to each other. If both have speeds of
360 m s1, calculate the recoil speed of the nucleus.
Collisions in two dimensions

As with collisions in one dimension, collisions in two dimensions can be of the rebound type
or the objects can stay coupled together. For example:
rebound: billiard balls or cars colliding at an angle
coupled: cars colliding off-centre and becoming tangled.
Rebound collisions
In a two-dimensional collision the objects approach and rebound obliquely. This means that
their paths follow different lines but in the same plane. If you follow these four steps you
have a good way of solving problems:
1 Construct a vector diagram showing the total momentum before the collision.
Figure 8.20 2 Construct another vector diagram showing the total momentum after the collision.
Initial motion of ball A
in Example 1. 3 Equate these two vectors since pf = pi.
4 Calculate the unknown quantity by vector analysis.
4 m s1
A
Example 1
B
A ball A of mass 1.0 kg is moving east at 4 m s1 when it collides with a stationary ball B of
at rest mass 2 kg (Figure 8.20). Ball A heads north at 4 m s1 after the collision. Determine the final
velocity of ball B.
Figure 8.21 Solution
Total initial momentum of
balls A and B in Example 1.
Step 1 Initial momentum
p i = p A + p B = 4 kg m s 1 E + 0 kg m s 1 = 4 kg m s 1 E (Figure 8.21)
Pi
Step 2 Final momentum

Add pA + pB
Figure 8.22 PA
The final momentum of
the balls.
PB
Momentum 199
Note: the symbol p (pronounced p-prime) is used to indicate the final momentum.
p f = pA + pB = m Av A + m Bv B = 1 kg 4 m s 1 + 2 kg v B (vectorily)
Figure 8.23
The final momentum of ball A
PB and ball B is found by placing
PA the momentum vectors head
to tail.
PA + PB (= PFINAL)
Step 3 Equate pf and pi

Figure 8.24
The sum of the final momentum
of ball A (pA) and of ball
PB B (pB) has to be equal to
PA their intial momentum.
PINITIAL (= PFINAL)
4 kg ms1
Step 4 Vector analysis

Using Pythagoras theorem: pB = 5.6 kg m s1.
As the mass of B is 2 kg, vB = 2.8 m s1.
Angle = S45E (or SE or 135 True).
Example 2
A 2 kg ball (A) is travelling at 10 m s1 east when it strikes a stationary 2 kg ball (B) a glanc-
ing blow. The two balls move away at right angles to each other with ball A travelling 30 to
the north of its original path. Calculate the velocity of balls A and B after the collision.
Figure 8.25
A Motion of balls in Example 2.
30 original path of ball A

A
B
2 kg
2 kg
Solution
p i = m Au A = 2 10 = 20 kg m s 1
p f = pA + pB = m Av A + m Bv B = 2v A + 2v B
Figure 8.26
PA The final momentum equals
PB the vector sum of the
initial momentums.
30
PINITIAL = 20 kg ms1

sin 30 = pB/20 pB = 10 kg m s1 vB = 5 m s1.

cos 30 = pA/20 pA = 20 0.866 = 17.3 kg m s1 vA = 8.65 m s1.
Note: as the above example has shown, when two objects of the same mass collide and
bounce off, the angle between their paths after collision is a right angle. When the masses
are different, the angle may not be a right angle and the solution to the problem is more dif-
ficult the cosine rule is often used. If you try this experiment in class, you might find that
the angle is just slightly less than 90 because of friction effects.
Coupled collisions
Example
Two skaters, Alfred (A) and Barbara (B), collide and hold each other together after impact.
Alfred, whose mass is 83 kg, is originally moving east with a speed of 6.2 m s1. Barbara,
whose mass is 55 kg, is originally moving north with a speed of 7.8 m s1. What is their
velocity after the impact?
Figure 8.27
The two skaters A and B
collide and move off together. A
after
impact
A B

before
impact
B
Solution
p A + p B = p(A+B)
m Av A + m Bv B = (m A + m B)v
83 6.2 + 55 7.8 = 138v (vector addition; do not solve for v using algebra)
Figure 8.28
Final momentum (thick arrow)
m
is the vector sum (head to tail) Pi = P f tu
of the two initial momentums. en
om PB =
l m
itia 429 kg ms1
in

PA = 514.6 kg ms1
The initial momentum is shown by the hypotenuse. This is also the final momentum because
of the law of conservation of momentum.
p final = 670 kg m s 1
670 = 4.9 m s 1 at angle = 40
hence velocity is
83 + 55
Momentum 201
Questions
17 A stationary 6.0 kg bomb suddenly explodes and the fragments fly off in the
directions shown in Figure 8.29. Determine the final velocity of the 1.0 kg piece.
2 kg Figure 8.29
10 m s1 N
For question 17.
3 kg
6 m s1 W
1 kg
18 A ball A with a mass of 1.0 kg and moving at 4 m s1 strikes a glancing blow on a

second ball B of mass 2.0 kg that is initially at rest. After the collision, ball A is
moving at right angles to its original direction at a speed of 3 m s1 as illustrated
in Figure 8.30. Calculate the velocity of B.
Figure 8.30
A 3 m s1 For question 18.
Figure 8.31
4 m s1 For question 19.
A
B
A
B
A
B
19 A barge with a mass of 1.5 105 kg is proceeding east along a river at 6.2 m s1
in heavy fog when it collides with a barge heading north. The second barge has a
mass of 2.78 105 kg and was moving at 4.3 m s1. Upon impact the barges
remain coupled together (Figure 8.31). Find their resultant velocity. B
8.8 TO R Q U E : M OV I N G I N C I R C L E S
Not everything that has a force applied to it will move from one place to another. Sometimes
it just goes in a circle. When you spin a bicycle wheel, the applied force goes into making the
wheel rotate. When you tighten up the wheel nuts when changing a car tyre with a spanner, N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
the force just makes the nuts turn around. The torque to remove a lid off a
The turning effect is known as the torque, the symbol of which is the Greek letter tau jar of food has been set at
(). The magnitude of the torque depends on: 2 N m by food manufacturers.
the size of the force applied This torque is such that all
the direction of the force applied 20- to 40-year-olds and 97%
of 50- to 94-year-olds can
the distance between the point at which it acts and the pivot.
remove it. Estimate the force
For example, when you open a door you are applying a torque to twist it about its hinges.
necessary to manage this,
You pull on the knob at right angles to the door. If you pulled sideways, the force would be
assuming the radius of a typical
wasted or reduced. As well, the door knob is located as far as possible from the pivot point lid is 3.5 cm. Why does it help
to make your pull as effective as possible. to put a tight lid under a hot
If F and r are perpendicular: water tap?
Torque = Fr
If F and r are at an angle :
Torque = Fr sin

Figure 8.32 Example

Calculating the torque applied A force of 150 N is applied at right angles to the end of a hammer handle 30.0 cm long to pull
to a hammer.
a nail from some wood. (See figure 8.32.) What torque is applied to the hammer?
force of Solution
150 N Torque applied by the hand: = Fr = 150 0.300 = 45 N m.
Engine torque
m
c
If you hear people talking about four-wheel drives, the subject of torque eventually comes
30
up. Diesel engines have a big reputation for providing a lot of torque at low engine speeds
compared with their petrol-engined counterparts. Table 8.2 compares the engine performance
of the turbo diesel and petrol Toyota Landcruiser 4WDs.
nail
Ta b l e 8 . 2 E N G I N E P E R F O R M A N C E S
PETROL DIESEL
Capacity (L) 4.5 L 4.2 L
Power (kW) 158 kW @ 4600 rpm 115 kW @ 3600 rpm
Torque (N m) 373 N m @ 3200 rpm 357 N m @ 1800 rpm
Although the petrol engine produces more torque, the diesel engine produces it at a much
lower engine speed. This gives it tremendous advantage in climbing sandhills and getting out
When removing a cork out of a of bogs. Also, the torque produced by either engine is not constant over the range of engine
champagne bottle, it is easier if speeds but peaks at the value shown in the table.
you hold the cork and rotate the
base of the bottle rather than
holding the base and rotating the Activity 8.4 DIESEL VS PETROL
cork as most people do.
Motor enthusiasts seem to either love diesels or hate them.
Why is this easier? It seems to
defy logic, doesnt it? 1 If you know someone with an interest in cars and trucks see if you can get him
or her to help you make a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of
diesel versus petrol engines. Use the following criteria as a guide: engine life
(wear and tear), cost of engine, fuel price, fuel economy, acceleration ability,
availability of fuel, water in cylinders, air pollution.
2 Why do farmers prefer diesels? Is it because of the low-speed torque?
3 What is the difference between a supercharger and a turbocharger?
Questions
20 Calculate the torque on a wheel nut produced by a force of 90 N at right angles
on the end of a spanner 40 cm away from the pivot point (the wheel nut).
ANGULAR MOMENTUM 8.9

Now that youve seen how rotation occurs, its time to look at the laws involved and some
other things that rotate. Have you seen the spinning chair at the Sciencentre in Brisbane? Or
the spinning chairs at Questacon or just about every other science expo around? They have
something in common with a car engine, a springboard diver, a frisbee and the incredible
shrinking stars.
Bodies that spin have momentum angular momentum. It is different from linear
momentum in that it is the spinning, not the movement from place to place, that is important.
Just as you need a force to get a bicycle to move, you have to apply a torque to a bicycle
wheel to make it spin. An external torque can change an objects angular momentum.
Momentum 203
So far in this chapter you have seen that linear momentum is equal to the product of
mass and linear velocity (p = mv). Similarly, angular momentum (L) is the product of inertia
(I), which is related to mass, and angular velocity (). Hence: L = I. The Earth gains 100 thousand
tonnes each day as interstellar
Inertia dust settles on this beautiful

planet of ours. Calculate how
For rigid bodies such as a bicycle wheel or a rolling ball, physicists have developed formulas much longer each day will be
that enable us to calculate their rotational inertia. This is different from mass because for a because of this. You may need
rotating object not all the mass is travelling at the same speed the outside goes faster to do this long-hand as most
than the inside. How the mass is distributed in that object will determine how difficult it is calculators wont show an
to start or stop the object rotating. Some simple objects are shown in Figure 8.33. answer unless you know
some tricks.
r r
r
r2
Figure 8.33
thin ring Rotational inertia equations for
I = mr 2 disc objects rotating about the
2 r1
I = 1- mr cylinder indicated axes.
2
2
I = 1- mr thick ring
2
I = 12- m(r12+r22)
r
l l
r
uniform thin rod
2
solid ball I = 1- ml
3
2
l = 2- mr
5 uniform thin rod disc
2
I = 1- ml I = 1- mr 2
12 4
Example
Calculate the rotational inertia of a 20 kg snowball of diameter 1.5 m.
Solution
For a solid sphere:
I = 25 mr 2 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
I = 25 20 1.5 2 If everyone faced the same way on
I = 18 kg m 2 Earth and took a step at the
same time would the Earths
A rolling snowball will therefore have both rotational momentum and linear momentum. To stop rotation change? What data would
it moving you have to stop its translational motion and its rotational motion. Not an easy task. you need to calculate this
mathematically?
Angular momentum
The angular momentum L of a rigid body of rotational inertia I rotating at an angular speed
about an axis is given by L = I. The angular speed needs to be expressed in radians per
second (rad s1) as was shown in Chapter 6.
Example
Calculate the angular momentum of the snowball in the previous example if it is rolling at
3 revolutions per second.
Solution
1 revolution equals 2 radians, hence 3 rev/s = 6 rad s1.
L = I
= 18 kg m 2 6 rad s 1
= 340 kg m 2 s 1

CONSERVATION OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM 8.10

Just as linear momentum is conserved, so too is angular momentum.
If no net torque acts on a system, the angular momentum L of that system remains
A piece of wire has an eye at constant no matter what changes take place within that system.
one end with a small wire hoop
through it. When it is rotated in
a drill the hoop lifts up. L = I = a constant
Now why is this? I i i = I f f
In the simplest case, if a solid body is spinning at a particular rate then it will continue
rotate to spin at that rate unless an outside torque (twisting force) acts on it. More interestingly
eye
though, if the distribution of mass changes within the body, then inertia changes and so the
angular speed will have to change to keep the angular momentum constant.
Imagine a student seated on a stool that can rotate freely. The student, who has been set
into rotation at a slow initial angular speed i, holds two dumbells in his outstretched hands.
The student now pulls his arms in close to his body. This reduces his rotational inerta from its
initial value Ii to a smaller value If as his mass is closer to the rotational axis (the radius r is
smaller). His rate of rotation increases markedly, from i to f. If he wants to slow down all
hoop
he has to do is extend his arms once more.
EVERYDAY EXAMPLES OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM 8.11

The springboard diver
Figure 8.34 shows a diver doing a forward one-and-a-half somersault dive. As you would
expect, her centre of mass follows a parabolic path. By pulling her arms and legs into the
closed tuck position she reduces her rotational inertia and hence increases her angular speed.
Pulling out of the tuck position into the open layout position slows her rotation rate.
Figure 8.34
The divers angular momentum is
constant throughout the dive. Her centre
The incredible shrinking star
of mass follows a parabolic path. When a star runs out of nuclear fuel, its temperature decreases and its diameter gets smaller;
in fact, it may go from the size of our Sun to just a few kilometres. The star becomes a neutron
star, so called because the core of the star has been compressed to just an incredibly dense
neutron gas. Because stars rotate, the effect of this decrease in radius is an increase in rota-
tional speed. Our Sun rotates once per month; a neutron star may rotate at 800 revolutions
per second.
Bullets
When bullets are projected up the barrel of a gun they are guided by spiral grooves inside the
barrel. These grooves are called the rifling and give the bullet a high rotational speed by
the time it leaves.
One of the most popular firearms among Queensland farmers and sporting shooters is the
.257 Weatherby Mark V rifle. It has a barrel 66 cm long and a twist of 30 cm. This means that
as the bullet moves up the rifle barrel, it does one complete turn for every 30 cm of barrel
length. Seeing that it exits the muzzle with a velocity of 850 m s1, it means that the bullet
is spinning at about 2850 rev/s. You can show this to be correct by dividing the 850 m by
0.30 m to see how many revolutions it does in 1 s. This spinning is designed to keep the
bullet travelling point-first so as to reduce air resistance. Without this rotational stabilisa-
tion, the bullet would begin to tumble after a short distance and lose its velocity rapidly. It
would become useless.
Momentum 205
A spinning bullet can be thought of as a cylinder rotating about its long axis. The .257
bullet mentioned above has a diameter of .257 inches (6.5 mm) and a popular type has a
mass of 100 grains (6.47 g). For such a bullet to rotate about any other axis, it can be shown
that inertia would be greater (by a factor of about 10) and for angular momentum to be
conserved, its spin rate would have to be reduced. This is not likely without external forces
being applied. So it travels point-first. If you spin around a chocolate-
covered almond while it is
Example lying flat, an amazing thing
Compare (a) the linear momentum and (b) the angular momentum of a 45 grain .223 happens (usually) it stands
Armalite bullet on exiting the muzzle. A .223 bullet has a diameter of .223 inches (5.56 mm) on its end.
and 45 grains is equal to 2.9 g. The Armalite has a muzzle velocity of 1030 m s1 and a twist Explain this phenomenon in
of 25 cm, which produces a rotation rate of 4120 rev/s. terms of rotational inertia.
Before you try it, predict if the
Solution fat end or the pointy end will be
Linear momentum: p = mv on the top. What would happen
= 2.9 103 kg 1030 m s1 = 3.0 kg m s1. with a Smartie or an M&M?
Angular momentum:
rotational inertia I = 12 mr2
= 12 2.9 103 kg (2.78 103 m)2 = 1.12 108 kg m2
rotational speed = 4120 rev/s 2 rad/rev = 25 887 rad s1
angular momentum L = I = 1.12 108 kg m2 25 887 rads1 = 2.9 104 kg m2 s1. rotate it stands
up
The linear momentum is 10 000 times greater than the angular momentum but each has
its own job to do and both are precisely engineered to produce the high impact and good
stabilisation effects.
Ballistics experts define twist rate as the number of turns a bullet does per linear metre.
Although the rotational speed of the bullet remains constant for most of its journey (due to
conservation of angular momentum), the linear speed decreases. Hence the bullet does a lot
more spins in a slow metre than it does in a fast metre so the twist rate increases. It is
just a strange way of expressing rotational speed but even keen shooters wont believe you
when you tell them that a bullets twist rate increases as it travels towards the target. You
could even win money in a bet. (See Table 8.3.)
Ta b l e 8 . 3 S O M E BA L L I S T I C DATA *
RANGE VELOCITY ROTATIONAL TWIST LINEAR ANGULAR
(m) (m s 1 ) SPEED RATE MOMENTUM MOMENTUM
(rev/s) (rev/s) (kg m s 1 ) ( 10 8 kg m 2 )
0 855 3050 3.6 8.3 7
100 790 3050 3.9 7.7 7
200 730 3050 4.2 7.1 7
300 680 3050 4.5 6.6 7
400 620 3050 4.9 6.0 7
500 570 3050 5.4 5.5 7
* The data are for a Winchester bullet fired from a Remington .308 rifle with a 28 cm twist. The bullet has a diameter
of 7.62 mm, a mass of 9.7 g and a muzzle velocity of 855 m s1. Figure 8.35
The three rotational axes of a book.
A c t i v i t y 8 . 5 B O O K T H R OW I N G 1
Put a rubber band around a hardback book and try throwing it in the air with a
rotation about one of its axes as shown in Figure 8.35. 2
It should be fairly easy to achieve stable rotation about two of the axes, but the
third one is very hard. Which of the axes labelled in Figure 8.35 is this difficult one?
3
The explanation is that rotation about axes that produce maximum or minimum
inertia is relatively simple as they are stable against small deviations (wobbles).
Intermediate inertia is easier to get to wobble.

Figure 8.36(a)
The cushion is set at 0.7 times the
Billiards and pool
balls diameter. This is the same as These games have the feel of physics. Balls collide with each other and bounce off the
two-fifths of the radius above the
centre of the ball.
cushion. But actually the physics of these games is a bit more subtle than that. A skilled
player can impart backspin and topspin and other important rotational motions they call left
and right English.
cushion When the cue (stick) hits a ball, both linear and rotational motion is imparted. When you
strike a billiard ball at mid-height, it will skid away from you and then begin to roll until it
d 0.7d collides with another ball or the cushion. Rolling friction is very low. But if it is struck above
the mid-point it will acquire top spin: the top of the ball moves away from you faster than it
otherwise would. Striking the ball below the centre results in backspin. You are thus able to
control three features of the balls motion: its linear velocity (by how hard you strike it); the
direction of the spin; and how fast it spins.
A spinning ball experiences considerable friction, unlike a rolling ball, which experiences
almost none. The direction of the friction is toward you for backspin and so the spin is elim-
Figure 8.36(b) inated quickly; the ball slows down until all spin is lost and then it just continues to roll. With
Strategic points to hit the cue ball.
topspin, friction is away from you and slippage tends to speed up the ball. The slippage
hit here for gradually slows until it exactly matches the forward motion and the ball just rolls. There is a
smooth rolling
left English special point on the ball two-fifths of the radius above the centre point, which, when struck,
with follow produces a roll with no slippage at all. That is the reason the cushion on the inside edge of
the table has a bump at this height to bounce the ball back without causing it to slip
region for (Figure 8.36(a)).
topspin
and follow However, players are more interested in collisions with other balls. When the cue ball
region for strikes another ball it transfers its momentum. In a head-on collision, the transfer is com-
backspin
and draw plete, leaving the cue ball with no linear motion. In a glancing collision, the cue ball loses
only part of its momentum and continues to travel almost at right angles to the motion of the
mid-height struck ball. In any collision, virtually none of the angular momentum is transferred because
left of the small amount of friction between the balls. So after a head-on collision, the linear
English
only
centre line motion stops but the rotation continues. The cue ball will then move back toward you if it
has backspin (called draw) or away from you if it has topspin (called follow) after the
left English
with draw collision. If the ball is struck on the left side, it will acquire a clockwise spin (called left
English) and if struck on the right side will acquire right English. These rotations also affect
the result of the collision. See Figure 8.36(b).
Angular momentum (and linear momentum) is conserved in all collisions. A study of
momentum transfer is the job of a physicist. To take advantage of the physics is the job of
the player.
Activity 8.6 BILLIARD PHYSICS

1 If you can get access to a billiard table, see if you can achieve the following
(take notes): topspin, smooth rolling, backspin, left English, right English.
Note the motion in each case and see if it agrees with the text above.
Try hitting the cue ball directly at mid-height.
2 Try hitting the ball with each of the above motions head-on into a stationary
ball. Look for topspin and follow, backspin and draw. What happens with left
English and follow, left English and draw?
3 Does a glancing blow produce a separation angle of 90 as stated in the above
text? What difference does spin have on this angle, if any?
4 What effect on angular momentum transfer does putting chalk on the balls
have? This is illegal but its in the interests of science. Dont do it in a real game
it may give you an unfair advantage.
Momentum 207
The falling cat

Dont try this! When a cat falls out of a window upside-down it turns over and lands on its
feet. How is this possible? If it starts with no angular momentum, how can the cat acquire it
without violating the law of conservation of angular momentum? The answer is that the cat
bends itself into a V-shape and by stretching out its front legs while curling up its back legs
can change its rotational inertia and turn half its body. It then curls up its front legs and
stretches its back legs to change its inertia again and completes the rotation. Pretty clever N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
for a dumb animal! Explore the physics of it for yourself but not with a cat. A large ball bearing is placed on
a sheet of paper on a desk and
Questions the paper is pulled quickly from
under the ball.
21 The 7.62 mm (diameter) bullet has become the NATO standard cartridge for the Does the ball stay in the same
armed forces. Calculate the angular momentum of a 9.7 g bullet fired from a Russian place relative to the desk, or
SKS rifle with a muzzle velocity of 671 m s1 and a rotation rate of 1266 rev/s. what? Please explain!
22 Calculate the angular momentum of a smoothly rolling billiard ball of mass 100 g
and diameter 8 cm rotating at 10 rev/s.
Activity 8.7 SOME TRICKY QUESTIONS

Here are a few tricky questions on momentum. Before you look at the answers below, try
discussing them in class.
1 Why is it hard to stand a bicycle upright but if you give it a push, it will roll
along without falling over?
2 Why shouldnt you put your foot on the brakes while youre driving a car through
a corner? Racing car drivers only accelerate as they come out of a curve, not
while they are in it. Why?
3 A ski turn requires a sinking of the whole body followed by a powerful upthrust
and a rotation of the upper part of the body. The lower part of the body rotates
the opposite way. Why is this?
4 If you spin a hard-boiled egg and stop it with your finger it stays stopped.
A fresh egg will start to spin again. Why?
5 Imagine an egg timer that uses falling sand. If you weigh it while some of the
sand is falling in mid-air will it weigh less than when all the sand is at the
bottom? After all, some of the sand is in the air and not being supported by
the balance.
A n sw e r s t o A c t i v i t y 8 . 7
Answer 1 The spinning wheels acquire angular momentum and for the bike to fall
over there has to be a change in this momentum. As well, the bike acquires linear
momentum and this also has to be altered.
Answer 2 Sudden braking in a turn throws extra weight on to the front wheels and
less on the back wheels resulting in less friction in the rear tyres. This makes it more
likely for the car to spin out. Conversely, accelerating puts extra weight on the rear
tyres, increasing the friction as drivers come out of a turn.
Answer 3 To conserve angular momentum, when the top part of your body twists
one way, the lower part twists in the opposite direction.
Answer 4 The contents of a fresh egg continue to spin when the shell is stopped.
When the shell is released the contents make the shell spin again.
Answer 5 They will weigh the same. The loss in weight because some of the sand is
in mid-air is compensated for by the impact of the sand when it strikes the bottom.
These sand grains transfer their momentum and hence extra force to the balance.

Figure 8.37
For question 27.
Practice questions
4000 The relative difficulty of these questions is indicated by the number of stars beside each
3000
F (N)
2000
*23 Masses of 20 kg and 35 kg are on the ends of a 1.4 m long bar. Determine the
1000 centre of mass of the system.
*24 What is the momentum of: (a) a cricket ball of mass 160 g moving at 12.5 m s1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 east; (b) a billiard ball of mass 200 g moving at 8.5 m s1 N35E; (c) a 100 kg
t (ms) footballer moving with a velocity of 8 m s1 north?
*25 An alpha particle of mass 7 1027 kg is accelerated from 5 103 m s1 to
2 104 m s1. Calculate the change in momentum.
Figure 8.38 *26 A car of mass 2200 kg accelerates from rest at 3 m s2 for 10 s. Determine the
For question 28. impulse imparted to the car.
**27 When a ball of mass 180 g is struck by a bat moving in the opposite direction,
the force acting on the ball is as shown in the graph (Figure 8.37). Determine
(a) the impulse; (b) the final velocity of the ball if it was initially moving at
10.0 m s1 south.
ball ball **28 A ball of mass 50 g moving horizontally at a speed of 40 cm s1 strikes a
suspended plate of mass 1000 g and rebounds from it with a speed of 25 cm s1
v?
as illustrated in Figure 8.38. Find the speed with which the plate begins to move.
**29 Two masses of 4 kg and 3 kg respectively are travelling east along a frictionless
surface with respective speeds of 12 m s1 and 5 m s1. If the 3 kg mass continues
to move east with a speed of 9 m s1 after the collision, calculate the speed of
the 4 kg mass.
initial final **30 A railway truck of mass 4000 kg moving with a speed of 3.6 m s1 collides with a
stationary truck of mass 2400 kg. The two trucks become coupled together.
Figure 8.39 What is their common speed?
Blood from the heart comes up the **31 What is the angular momentum of the Earth associated with rotation about its
aorta from the left ventricle. own axis? The mass of the Earth is 5.98 1024 kg and its radius is 6.37 106 m.
The aorta branches at a T-junction.
**32 A ball A of mass 6 kg is moving east at 3.5 m s1 when it collides with a
stationary ball B of mass 8 kg. Ball A heads north at 5 m s1 after the collision.
Determine the final velocity of ball B.
**33 The ballistocardiograph (BCG) is an important device in medicine and is
aorta
designed to employ simple physics to analyse the effectiveness of operations on
a patients heart. With each heartbeat, about 70 g of blood is ejected from the
left ventricle of the heart into the aorta (Figure 8.39). The speed of the blood is
about 30 cm s1. Hence the blood from each heartbeat has momentum. The body
left recoils with each heartbeat due to conservation of momentum. This can be
ventricle
heart registered on a very sensitive balance attached to the platform on which the
body rests. (See Figure 8.40).
Figure 8.40
The air table for the
ballistocardiograph.
platform
air pump
Momentum 209
Healthy person Figure 8.41

A ballistocardiogram of a
a healthy person and a heart
attack victim.
0.05 m s2 1 second
Heart attack victim
The graph produced shows the acceleration of the body during the different stages of the
heartbeat. In Figure 8.41 a ballistocardiogram is shown for both a healthy person and one
who has suffered a heart attack. Accelerations can be read to an accuracy of 105 m s2.
(a) When the body recoils, the table moves. How has friction been taken into
account?
(b) When a pulse of blood travels from ventricle to aorta, which way would the
body move?
(c) On the graph, the acceleration goes negative after the main part of the
heartbeat. Why is this?
(d) An acceleration of about 0.06 m s2 is considered healthy. What is the value
for the heart attack victim?
(e) Extract the information needed to calculate the momentum of a blood pulse
and calculate it.
***34 A radioactive Thorium (Th) nucleus decays by emitting an electron and a
neutrino at right angles to each other in a horizontal plane. The momentum of T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G
the electron is 6 1021 kg m s1 and that of the neutrino 2 1020 kg m s1. If (Answer true or false)
Objects moving in straight
the mass of the resulting protactinium (Pa) nucleus is 3.905 1025 kg, calculate
lines cannot have angular
(a) the total momentum of the three particles immediately after the decay;
momentum.
(b) the recoil momentum of the nucleus; (c) the recoil speed of the nucleus. Momentum is not a vector.
***35 William Tell fires an arrow into a 100 g apple. The arrow has a mass of 100 g and Momentum is the same as
travels at 50 m s1 horizontally. As the arrow hits it, the apple splits into two a force.
pieces. One piece weighing 50 g flies vertically up at 20 m s1 while the other
piece gets stuck on the arrow and continues on. Calculate the velocity of the
arrow and second piece of apple together.
***36 A body of mass 400 g is moving along a smooth surface at a velocity of 10 m s1
east. It strikes a body of mass 650 g, initially at rest, and then the 400 g body
moves at a velocity of 8 m s1 in a direction E35N. What is the velocity of the
650 g object?
***37 A rocket of mass 25 000 kg is cruising through space with a constant speed of
1 103 m s1 when exhaust gases are expelled for 10.0 seconds at a rate of
500 kg s1 with a speed of 5 104 m s1. Calculate the new speed of the rocket.

CHAPTER 09
Work and Energy
RUNNING OUT OF ENERGY 9.1
If you leave a torch turned on, its batteries will run out of energy. But has the energy gone
forever? Where did it go? These are fundamental questions when it comes to energy. As you
probably learnt in earlier science studies, energy is not lost it just gets transferred from
one place to another. This is called the law of conservation of energy. The universe seems
to have a finite amount of energy that is continually being rearranged.
Think about these questions:
If you stand still, you are using up energy, but where does it go?
Why cant a ship extract heat from sea water to power its engines?
Why do you lean forward when Will there really be an energy crisis soon? Are we running out of energy?
you get up out of a chair?
A c t i v i t y 9 . 1 E N E R G Y AT H O M E
To help you become more familiar with the energy, work and power terms, find out the
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E following:
When bodies interact, the 1 Electric kettle If you have an electric kettle, look underneath for its rate of
energy of one may increase at energy consumption, which will be expressed in watts (W). For example, the
the expense of another. But we Kambrook Flash has 2000 W stamped on it. Did anyone in the class get below
cant intercept the energy and
1600 W or over 2400 W? Why couldnt the manufacturers make a 20 000 W
bottle it. So comment on this
kettle? It would boil water in a flash!
assertion: Energy is not a thing;
it is a property of a body. 2 Food energy Most foods have their energy content written on the label.
A Popper apple juice carton states that the energy is 206 kJ per 100 g. But it
also expresses it another way. Look at a food container from your cupboard and
note the two ways that energy content is expressed.
3 Engine power If your family owns a car, truck or motorbike and you can find
the owners manual, find out the power output of the engine. For example, a GXL
Turbo Land Cruiser has a power output of 118 kW. But following this number is a
further specification to do with the power. What is it?
E N E R G Y AT WO R K 9.2
A simple definition of energy is that energy is the capacity to do work. The word energy
stems from the Greek en meaning in, and ergos meaning work. But this doesnt really give
us a good understanding of the idea of energy and work. Physicists didnt develop a good
understanding of these concepts until 100 years after Newtons death. Today these ideas are
considered fundamental to the processes of nature.
Wo r k a n d E n e r g y 211
Energy transfers
The above definition indicates that energy can be converted into useful work; for example,
when the electrical energy in a cars battery is used to start the engine. The reverse is also
true work can be converted into stored energy. For example, we can do work to pump
water from a lake to a high reservoir. That stored water has higher energy because of its N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
height and can later be used to drive electric generators and produce electrical energy. When In 1916, a Dr Taylor observed a
energy is transferred to an object we say work is done on the object; when energy is trans- man carrying 40 kg pigs of iron
ferred away from an object we say that work is done by the object: 11 m up a 2.4 m high incline
Energy transferred to an object (work done on the object): e.g. water pumped up to a to a train carriage. He carried
reservoir. 1156 pigs in 10 hours. The
Energy transferred away from an object (work done by the object): e.g. water flows mans mass was 65 kg and he
back down. rested for 15% of the time.
What was his average power
1
Energy losses in transfer output for the 8 2 hours?
On a later occasion and without
When a torch is turned on, some of the energy stored in the chemical bonds is transferred to a rest he could only carry 305
the electric charge that flows through the bulb. Some of this energy is transferred into light pigs in the 10 hours. By what
and some as heat energy to the glass bulb and air. factor was his power output
Energy transfers never achieve 100% efficiency, that is, some of the energy is transferred increased when he had proper
rest? Suggest why cyclists use a
to places you dont intend it to go to. For instance, the energy from the torch that goes to
sprintcoastsprint sequence.
heating up the glass and air is wasted it is a loss in the sense that it didnt get turned into
light. But it is not really lost; energy never is. It just goes to the wrong place. Efficiency is
a measure of the useful energy output compared with the energy input.
% efficiency = energy out 100%

energy in
Some energy transfers are listed in Table 9.1.
Ta b l e 9 . 1 E N E R G Y T R A N S F E R S A N D L O S S E S
DEVICE USEFUL ENERGY TRANSFER % OF TOTAL NON-USEFUL ENERGY I N V E S T I G AT I N G
(ENERGY IS CONVERTED ENERGY TRANSFERS (ENERGY IS
TO USEFUL WORK) TRANSFERRED NOT CONVERTED TO What energy transfer occurs for
THAT IS USEFUL USEFUL WORK) humans? What percentage of the
(% EFFICIENCY) input energy is transferred to
Petrol engine chemical mechanical 25 heat, sound non-useful purposes?
Electric light electrical light 5 heat
Fluorescent light electrical light 20 non-visible radiation
Solar cell light electrical 21 heat; re-emission of light
Battery chemical electrical 85 heat
Electric motor electrical mechanical 90 heat
Forms of energy
The jumble of terms like light, heat, electricity, sound, mechanical and chemical doesnt
provide a systematic way of organising the different forms of energy. Before we can go any
further, we need a way of classifying energy.
Bodies that are moving have kinetic energy (EK, KE), e.g. a flying bird, a shooting star,
a moving locomotive, a speeding bullet.
Bodies that can do work because of their position have potential energy (EP, PE or U),
e.g. water in a reservoir, a compressed spring, a stretched rubber band.
Kinetic and potential energy are said to be forms of mechanical energy.

Where does this leave chemical, heat and electrical energy? Because they are to do with
the random vibrations or motions of electrons, atoms and molecules within an object, they
are said to be forms of internal energy (Ei). This chapter deals only with mechanical energy.
Heat, sound, electricity and nuclear energy are dealt with in later chapters. Chemical energy
is mainly left to the other physical science chemistry.
WO R K 9.3
Figure 9.1 v=0 v
The desk with mass m is moved from
rest a distance s across the floor by an
applied force Fa against the frictional
force Ff. It acquires a velocity . Fa m Ff
Could you shift a destroyer
(a 20 000 tonne ship) moored If you tried to push a desk across the floor and it didnt move, you might say you did a lot of
in a dock with the ropes slack? work on the desk. But to a physicist, if it didnt move then no work was done. If you did move
Lets assume you can apply a it, then the work done would depend on how hard you pushed and the distance it moved. The
force of 500 N. We say Yes;
word work is often used very loosely; for example, have you done your homework tonight?
but how long do you think it
Physicists define work very carefully; work is defined as the product of the force and the
would take to push it 2 m away
from the dock: 400 seconds,
distance moved in the direction of an applied force. It is a scalar quantity, and yet is the
400 hours, or forget it? product of two vector quantities.
Work = force displacement or W = Fs
Since force is measured in newtons and displacement is measured in metres, work has the
units newton metre or N m. The newton metre is called the joule (J) in honour of James
Joule (181889), an English physicist who studied heat and electrical energy.
Example
Figure 9.2 F=1N F=1N

Work is done when a force is used
to push a book along a desk.
s=2m
Calculate the work done when a horizontal force of 1 N is used to push a book a distance of
2 m along a desk (Figure 9.2).
Solution
W = Fs = 1 N 2 m = 2 J
Doing no work in class

lift Figure 9.3
No work is done on the book or the
helicopter if there is no movement.
lift
weight
weight
Our definition of work leads to the surprising conclusion that, in a scientific sense, you are
not doing any work on a book if you hold it in your outstretched arm for a long period of
time. Sure, you get tired but no work is done on the book. You will feel tired because your
muscles are using energy and burning up fuel. As the muscle fibres relax and contract just
keeping your arm still you are using energy. But it is not being transferred to the book. No
work is done on the book. But there is a change in the internal energy of your body as micro-
scopic molecular internal motions and reactions go on. The same is true for a helicopter
hovering in a stationary position above the ground. These motions never result in any
measurable displacement and therefore never do any work in the sense that the word is used
in physics.
Forces at an angle
When you push a lawnmower or a shopping trolley, the force from your arms is at an angle to
the direction of the motion. The same is true if a child pulls a toy by a string at an angle
along the floor as shown in Figure 9.4(a). In this case the equation for work done is a little
different. Figure 9.4
Pulling a toy truck with a cord that
If a force (F) is used to pull the toy along a horizontal floor, the useful part of the force makes an angle with respect to
is the component in the direction of motion. In Chapter 4 you would have seen that this force the direction of the trucks motion:
W = Fs cos .
(Fhorizontal or FH) is equal to F cos . This is shown in Figure 9.4(b). Some of the force is
wasted and tends to lift the toy off the floor. It is not converted to useful work pulling the (a)
toy along the floor. F
Example
A force of 5.0 N is applied to a string attached to a toy truck that makes an angle of 40.0 to

the floor. How much work is done in dragging the truck a distance of 4.0 m across the floor?
s
Solution
The horizontal component (FH) = F cos 40 = 5.0 0.766 = 3.83 N.
W = Fs = 3.83 4.0 = 15 J
(b)
Alternatively: Fv
F
W = Fs cos = 5.0 4.0 cos 40 = 15 J
Notice that when = 0, the force is in the direction of motion and the formula returns to
W = Fs because the cosine of 0 (cos 0) = 1. F H = F cos

Graphs
Force and displacement can be expressed graphically. In Figure 9.5(a), a constant force of
150 N is applied to an object and shifts it a distance of 100 m. The work done is simply the
product of F s and so is the shaded area under the line (150 000 J). If the force does not
remain constant but varies as in Figure 9.5(b), the work is still determined by calculating the
shaded area (13 000 J).
Figure 9.5 (a) (b)
(a) Area = 150 100 = 15 000 J. 250
(b) Area = (100 100) + (60 100) 2
= 13 000 J.
200 200
Force applied east (N)
Force applied east (N)

150 150
100 100
work = area
50 50 work = area
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Displacement east (m) Displacement east (m)
Lifting things
When calculating the work done in lifting an object vertically, the force applied will be equal
to the objects weight (Fw = mg). This is assuming that it is lifted at constant speed. If the
speed is varied then Newtons second law formula (F = ma) would have to be applied.
Example
Calculate the work done in lifting a 15 kg schoolbag at constant speed from the floor to a port
rack 1.8 m off the ground.
Solution
F w = mg = 15 10 = 150 N
W = Fs = 150 1.8 = 270 J
A Mars bar provides you with 1 235 000 J (1235 kJ) of energy. This is equivalent to
lifting your bag 4500 times to burn off the energy. It seems hardly worth the effort! But
luckily, in lifting a bag, your body uses up a lot more energy than just the amount needed to
Figure 9.6 overcome gravitational forces. Just as well wouldnt you get really fat!
For question 3.
70
horse A Questions
60 1 Calculate the amount of work done in:
Force applied north (N)
50
horse B (a) pulling a bag of dog food 3.5 m along a table by applying a 25 N horizontal
force; (b) lifting a 20 kg bag of dog food at constant speed on to a table 85 cm
40
off the ground; (c) pumping 200 kg of water at a constant flow rate into a tank
30 25 m high.
20 2 A 200 kg piano is lowered by a rope out of a third-floor window.
10
(a) Calculate how much work is done in lowering the piano a distance of 9 m to
the ground at constant speed.
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 (b) Was work done on or by the piano in this process?
Displacement north (m) 3 A team of two horses is pulling a loaded cart in a northerly direction along a
horizontal road at constant speed. A forcedisplacement graph is shown in
Figure 9.6.
(a) Calculate the work done by each horse.

(b) What is the total work done on the cart?
4 Figure 9.7 shows different forces acting on different objects. Calculate the work
done in each case. Figure 9.7
For question 4.
(a) (b) (c)

40 6
300 5
30
4
Force (N)
Force (N)
Force (N)
20 200 3
2
10 100
1
0 0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 50 100 150 200 0 20 40 60 80
Displacement (m) Displacement (m) Displacement (m)
9.4 KINETIC ENERGY

A bowling ball resting on the floor has no energy of motion. One that is rolling along a
bowling alley does have energy of motion. Energy due to the motion of an object is called
kinetic energy (Greek kinema = motion).
Before work is done: After work is done:

Figure 9.8
Hockey puck on an air table.
1 1
KE = mu2 KE = mv2
2 2
Fnet u Fnet v
m m
To determine an equation for kinetic energy, we will use concepts already developed.
Imagine a hockey puck moving on a frictionless surface such as an air table. If an unbalanced
force Fnet is applied to it for a period of time t, the force produces accelerated motion and the
object goes from an initial velocity u to a final velocity v:
v 2 = u 2 + 2as
2 2
a= v u
2s
By letting F = ma, the work done in accelerating the puck is given by:

v2 u2
W = Fs = mas = m s = 12 mv 2 12 mu 2
2s
This represents a change in the quantity that we call kinetic energy.
Work done equals change in kinetic energy W = E K

Hence: if an object starts from rest, its final kinetic energy is given by:
E K = 12 mv 2
This is properly referred to as its translational kinetic energy because rolling or rotating
objects also have rotational kinetic energy. This is not dealt with here.
You or your teacher may prefer to use the symbol KE for kinetic energy its a matter of
choice. Note that kinetic energy is a scalar quantity and hence does not require direction.
Example 1
Calculate the translational kinetic energy of a 6.0 kg bowling ball rolling at 5.0 m s1.
Solution
E K = 12 mv 2 = 1
2 6 5 2 = 75 J
Example 2
A 520 kg rocket sled at rest is propelled along the ice by an engine developing a constant
thrust of 12 000 N. Assuming all of the work goes into motion, calculate its velocity after
40 m.
Solution
Work done by engine: W = Fs = 480 000 J.
Work is converted to kinetic energy, hence EK = 480 000 J.
E K = 12 mv 2 or 480 000 = 12 520 v 2

v = 2 480 000 = 43 m s 1
520
The J-manoeuvre
In aircraft dogfights, it can be difficult to out-manoeuvre planes of similar ability. A tech-
nique developed by the US Airforce can tip the balance. It is called the J-manoeuvre. When
an exhaust nozzle that can turn sideways, up or down is added to the rear of their F-16
fighters, they can radically alter the performance of the planes. The rotating exhaust is similar
to that used in the British Harrier Jump Jets (remember Schwarzenegger in the movie True
Lies!), but is far more flexible. With it, pilots can bring a 2200 km h1 F-16 to a halt in a few
seconds.
0 direction of travel (speed in kilometres per hour) 600

Figure 9.9
The J-manoeuvre: the aerial
equivalent of a handbrake turn.
Conventional jet engines thrust the plane forward and the pilot steers using aerodynamic
controls ailerons, elevator and rudder which alter the air stream and cause the plane to
change directions. With the J-manoeuvre, the pilot pulls the nose of the plane through 90
vertically while the plane continues to travel horizontally belly-first (Figure 9.9). This brings
the plane to a halt without climbing (the normal way to slow down). The pilot then turns the
plane through 180 sideways and points its nose downward and as it picks up speed, the pilot
brings it back to level flight. It is much the same as a motorcycle wheelie. So, a 13 tonne jet
fighter can stop in about 5 seconds and then reverse directions. This is a loss of 2.4 billion
joules of kinetic energy or about 500 megawatts of power being shed without change in
potential energy (altitude) a clever trick. The pilot needs a really strong seatbelt harness In November 1998, forensic
system; and a strong stomach. police officer Gerard Dutton
of the Tasmania Police in Hobart
investigated an incident where
a man was killed by a piece
9.5 ENERGY CHANGES AND COLLISIONS of fencing wire 27 mm long,
2.4 mm diameter and
In the chapter on momentum we saw that in all collisions, momentum is conserved. We will 0.89 g mass that was hurled
now look at conservation of kinetic energy in collisions. up by a roadside slasher mower.
The death was curious
Collisions can be either elastic or inelastic. The word elastic comes from the Greek
because international data
elastiks meaning to drive or propel.
on incapacitation energy
developed by the US Army said
Elastic collisions that a person would be killed
only if the energy of a projectile
was between 40 and 236 joules.
An elastic collision is one in which kinetic energy is conserved.
The fencing wire fragment was
thrown from the edge of a
Conserve is from the Latin for to preserve or keep the same. Jams are often called conserves
rotating blade of radius 54 cm
because they preserve the fruit. In elastic collisions the total amount of kinetic energy before travelling at 2000 revolutions
the collision is the same as the total kinetic energy after the collision. Collisions between gas per minute. Was the projectiles
molecules are perfectly elastic. If they werent, the gas would lose energy and the pressure in energy within the incapacitation
a spray can would decrease while it was only sitting on a shelf. Clearly this does not happen. energy range?
Collisions between steel ball bearings is also approximately elastic.
For an elastic collision (Figure 9.10):
E K(initial) = E K(final) Figure 9.10

Balls colliding head-on.
1
2 mu a2 + 12 mu b2 = 12 mv a2 + 12 mv b2
Example 1 a b
A 3 kg steel ball moving east at 4 m s1 collides with a stationary 1 kg ball. After the
collision, the 3 kg mass moves east at 2 m s1 and the 1 kg mass moves east at 6 m s1
(Figure 9.11). Is this collision elastic?
Figure 9.11
Solution Collision of balls in Example 1.
Initial
1 2 1 2 4 m s1
E K(initial) = mu a + mu b
2 2
= 12 3 4 2 + 12 1 0 2 3 kg 1 kg
= 24 J
E K(final) = 12 mv a2 + 12 mv b2 Final
= 3
1
2 22 + 1
2 1 62 2 m s1 6 m s1
= 24 J
3 kg 1 kg
The collision is elastic.
Note: check for yourself that momentum is conserved.

Figure 9.12 Example 2

Collision of balls in Example 2. An object A of mass 1.0 kg moving at 3.0 m s1 east collides elastically head-on with an
Initial object B of mass 1.0 kg moving at 2 m s1 west. Determine the final velocity of each object.
3 m s1 2 m s1 (See Figure 9.12.)
Solution
A 1 kg 1 kg B
The solution involves some complex reasoning as conservation of both momentum and kinetic
energy is required.
Final Let east be the positive direction.
? m s1 ? m s1 1 Conservation of momentum:
m Au A + m Bu B = m Av A + m Bv B
A 1 kg 1 kg B 1 3 + 1 2 = 1 vA + 1 vB
32 = vA + vB
1 = vA + vB
vA = 1 vB
Blocks A and B are of mass 2m 2 Conservation of kinetic energy:
and m respectively. Block A is
allowed to slide down the
1
2 mu A2 + 12 mu B2 = 12 mv A2 + 12 mv B2
curved incline until it hits 1
2 1 32 + 1
2 1 2 2 = 1
2 1 v A2 + 1
2 1 v B2
block B in an elastic collision.
Which block will travel the Multiply both sides by 2 to cancel out the 12
farthest out? How far away 9 + 4 = v A2 + v B2
from each other will they strike 13 = v A2 + v B2
the ground? We say 1.6 m; vA2 = 13 v B2
how about you? We think youll
need conservation of energy 3 Solving both equations simultaneously and eliminating the term vA:
and momentum to do this one.
A vA2 = (1 v B) 2 = 1 2v B + v B2 and v A2 = 13 v B2
hence: 1 2v B + v B2 = 13 v B2
30 cm 2v B2 2v B 12 = 0
B
using the quadratic formula or factorising into (vB 3) (vB + 2) = 0, gives two solutions for
90 cm vB. They are vB = 3 m s1 and 2 m s1. The second of these solutions is the case where the
velocities are the same as the initial. In other words, no collision took place; they were on
parallel but separate tracks.
The first solution is where a collision took place. In this case vB = 3 m s1 and sub-
I N V E S T I G AT I N G stituting this into the equation vA = vB 1 gives a value for vA of 2 m s1 (west).
This is a long procedure and students find many pitfalls. But if you are careful and
To counter the high bounce of
meticulous and practise many more examples, success should be yours.
the WACA (Perth) cricket ground,
many players use bats that have
the centre of percussion (the
Equal masses colliding elastically
meat) higher up the bat than Note that in the above example, the objects swapped their velocities. Objects A and B had
normal. When in Brisbane they speeds of 3 and 2 m s1 respectively; after collision, these had become 2 and 3 m s1
can revert to a bat with lower respectively. This is true of linear elastic collisions between objects of equal mass. It is
centre of percussion and in
sometimes called the pool players result.
India where the wickets are
really flat, its even lower.
How many centimetres variation Activity 9.2 THE POOL HALL REVISITED
are there in the bats?
1 Next time you are playing pool or billiards, hit a ball into a stationary one and
see if they swap velocities. The cue ball should stop moving and the struck ball
should take off. As explained in previous chapters, if you impart spin to the ball
other effects come into play. For this experiment you should hit the ball about
seven-tenths of the diameter from the base. This produces no spin. Can you
explain why it wont spin?
2 Try it again but have one ball moving slowly and the other fast. Do they swap
velocities?
3 If you cant get to a pool table, try it with ball bearings rolling from opposite
directions along a grooved and curved ruler or try it with Newtons cradle
(Newtons balls). (See Figure 9.13(b).)
(a)
a (b)
b Figure 9.13
P (a) The force F, applied along
the line through point P, causes
F
translation and also rotation about
G the centre of mass G;
h = 0.7 diameter (b) Newtons balls.
r
C
Normal cuing
Inelastic collisions
An inelastic collision is one in which the total kinetic energy is not conserved.
Kinetic energy is lost. The missing kinetic energy is transferred to other types of energy such
as thermal (heat) energy and sound. Most collisions in the real world are of this sort. When
two objects cling or lock together after impact (i.e. they become coupled), the collision is
inelastic.
Examples include:
cars colliding
bullet hitting a target
meteorite striking the earth
tennis ball being struck by a racquet.
When different objects are dropped on to a concrete floor, they bounce to different
heights. A perfectly elastic collision would see the ball returning to its original height.
A superball is about 90% elastic, a golf ball about 60% and a lump of putty is perfectly
inelastic.
Figure 9.14
Activity 9.3 ANYONE FOR TENNIS?
dead spot
What part of the tennis racquet should you use to hit a tennis ball? Well, it all depends 5 cm from end
on whether you are serving or returning. In this activity you can check and extend the
results of Rod Cross, a physicist from the University of Sydney who clamped a tennis
racquet to a bench and measured the bounce of a tennis ball from different power points
of the racquet head. He found that a point 5 cm from the top end was a dead spot giving
no bounce at all. This is good for getting maximum power into the serve as all the kinetic
energy of the racquet goes into the ball. At the other end (5 cm in), there is another
power spot, which has maximum bounce. This is good for returning a fast ball, but no centre of
good for a serve. In the middle is the centre of percussion no ringing of the hands percussion
and gives medium bounce.
power spot
1 Clamp a racquet to a bench and repeat his tests. Graph the bounce (in cm) for a 5 cm from end
given drop height versus the distance from the top of the racquet.
2 Does the shape of the graph change when the drop height (i.e. the speed)
changes? Of what significance is this?
3 How does the bounce height vary across the racquet? Have you ever seen a
three-dimensional graph? How could you show the variation in bounce height
across the racquet as well as from the top-to-bottom of the racquet on the one
graph?
4 Obtain a videotape of a power server and see where the player hits the ball for a
serve. Does he or she really use the dead spot?

Figure 9.15 Wo r l d C u p p l ay e r s f a c e a w h o l e n e w b a l l g a m e
In the mid-1990s, the governing body of soccer (FIFA) decided to change the nature of the
regulation soccer ball to add more excitement and goals to matches. Adidas produced a new
ball that had 5% extra zing, much to the consternation of soccer players, who began over-
hitting the ball. The Questra ball has a special polyurethane coating that reduces friction and,
on the inside, has a rubbery layer to get more bang from the boot. It achieves this by reduc-
normal
tricolore
ing deformation of the ball and allowing more of the kinetic energy to be transferred from
shape the foot to the ball. In the FIFA bounce test, a ball is dropped from 2.0 m and the time is
measured for it to reach its maximum height after bouncing. The Questra ball takes 5% less
time than the traditional World Cup ball the Italian Etrusco Unico.
For the World Cup France-98, the Adidas Tricolore was used. It has a mass of 450 g and
circumference of 70 cm. The outer layer was a printed polyester film, the second layer a
polyurethane matrix of individually closed gas-filled microballoons (see Figure 9.15). The third
layer was a poly-cotton mixed fibre backing and the fourth layer was the latex rubber balloon
of about 70 kPa pressure.
deformed
by foot explosive
energy A c t i v i t y 9 . 4 B O U N C I N G BA L L S
return
1 You are going to drop different balls on to a concrete floor from a height of 1.8 m
and measure the height to which they bounce. Design a means of measuring the
bounce height. Express their bounce height as a percentage of the drop height.
This is called restitution. Some secondhand data are listed on the next page.
2 What characteristics do the higher bouncing balls have in common and how do
they differ from the less bouncy balls?
3 Try inflating a volleyball to different pressures and comparing pressure versus
The US baseball manufacturer bounce height. Is it linear? If not, why not?
Rawlings said they hadnt 4 Where does the energy go?
changed the manufacture of
balls since 1931; however, it
seems odd that balls from the A c t i v i t y 9 . 5 DATA - L O G G I N G BA L L S
1970s bounced 157 cm when
dropped from 462 cm (15 foot), You can perform the activity illustrated in Figure 9.16 using a TI graphing calculator and
whereas balls from the 1990s a TI Ranger. Other manufacturers (e.g. Casio) have similar equipment.
bounced 208 cm. What is
1 Hold the ball at least 50 cm away from the detector. When you are ready to start
intriguing is that in the 1970s
collecting data, press ENTER on the TI calculator to start the motion graph.
players hit 61 home runs
per season, whereas in the 2 When the motion detector starts clicking, release the ball from rest and allow it
1990 they hit 68 home runs. to bounce up and down directly below the detector.
What is the interpretation? 3 Analyse your graph to determine the maximum height.
You could also perform this experiment using the CBL and a Bounce program downloaded
from the TI web page.
ultrasonic motion detector
Figure 9.16
A motion detector and
data-logger being used to
measure bounce heights.
TI-83 ring stand

calculator ball
level surface
CBL unit
A c t i v i t y 9 . 6 G E T T I N G WA R M E R OUR RESULTS FOR ACTIVITY 9.6

If you need second-hand data or
In this activity you are to compare the bounce heights of a squash ball at different
just want to compare, here are
temperatures. Use a 2 m drop height to get a reasonable rebound. some typical results. The drop
1 Take three squash balls, put one in ice water (0C), leave one at room height was 100 cm.
temperature (measure), and put one in boiling water (100C). Tennis ball 48%
Golf ball 60%
2 Compare the bounce height as before and account for your results. Table tennis 26%
Superball 83%
In the 1965 baseball series, the Detroit Tigers accused the Chicago White Sox of illegally
Note: the official standards for a
refrigerating the ball. The Tigers only scored 17 runs in 5 games using the cold balls basketball is a rebound height
whereas the White Sox accused the Tigers of cooking the balls to score 59 runs in the of 125.5 cm to 137 cm from
previous 5 games (including 19 home runs). a drop height of 182.9 cm;
volleyball 152.4 to 165 cm
Although there is always some bounce associated with collisions, in this section we will from 254 cm. Go and check the
deal with collisions that are almost totally inelastic for the sake of simplicity. PE departments ball.
Example
A body of mass 6 kg travelling east at 4 m s1 strikes a 2 kg mass at rest. After the collision
they remain coupled and the mass moves east at 3 m s1. Is the collision elastic or inelastic?
The restitution (% energy
Solution returned after compression)
values for animal bodies are
1 1
E K(initial) = 2 mu A2 + 2 mu B2 as follows: kangaroo 40%,
= 2 6 42 + 2 2 02
1 1 protein collagen 93%, resilin
= 48 J 97%. Resilin was discovered
in 1960 by Danish scientist
E K(final) = 12 mv 2A + B
Dr Torkel Weis-Fogh. It works so
= 12 (6 + 2) 3 2 well because it doesnt get hot.
= 36 J It is the natural polymer in
flying insects; they use it for
As kinetic energy is lost, the collision is not elastic. elastic storage in their wing
hinges. This sounds like a good
topic for an investigation.
Questions
5 A 2 kg steel ball A travelling west at 5 m s1 collides elastically head-on with a
stationary ball B also of mass 2 kg. Without doing any calculations, state the N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
velocities (including directions) of the two balls after collision. A plastic measuring cylinder
6 A 0.20 kg ball A moving with a speed of 1.75 m s1 approaches a stationary has two stoppered holes near
second ball B of mass 0.15 kg, head-on. After the collision, ball B travels at the base, one twice the
2.0 m s1 in the same direction. (a) Calculate the speed of ball A after the diameter of the other. The
collision. (b) Was the collision elastic? cylinder is filled with water and
7 A 12 000 kg railway truck travelling along a straight track at a speed of 12 m s1 the small stopper removed.
It takes t1 seconds to empty.
collides with an identical stationary truck. If the trucks lock together as a result
When repeated with just the big
of the collision, calculate (a) their common speed; (b) the loss of kinetic energy. stopper removed it takes
t2 seconds. How long will
it take with both stoppers
removed? Do it algebraically
9.6 P OT E N T I A L E N E R G Y first before you wreck a good
measuring cylinder.
When you lift something off the floor and put it on a desk, you are applying a force to the
object and displacing it you are doing work on it. If work is done then it gains energy.
If it is moved at constant speed then it is not gaining kinetic energy but gaining energy of t1 t2 t?
position. This is called gravitational potential energy (Latin potens = capable). It
has the symbol EP, PE or U. When you need to distinguish it from other forms of potential
energy it is often written as GPE. In this book we will use EP in formulas and PE or GPE as an
abbreviation.

The work done is a measure of the change in gravitational potential energy. If the object
is lifted at constant speed then the force applied equals its weight (Fw) and the vertical
I live on a hill, and if I let my distance is given the symbol for height h:
2000 kg car roll down the
incline, by the time it has W = Fs = mgh
travelled 120 m to the bottom
it is going at 25 km h1. Hence a 5 kg ball raised 20 m will have work done on it or a change in potential energy
The start is 5 m higher than the equivalent to 5 10 20 J = 1000 J. We assume that an object on the ground has zero GPE
finish. What average frictional so the GPE of the ball is 1000 J. When the ground is the zero reference we can say that
force must be acting?
objects raised gain GPE and objects falling lose GPE.
Example 1
Calculate the GPE of a 20 kg box of groceries lifted 0.75 m to a bench top.
Solution
E P = mgh = 20 10 0.75 = 150 J
Example 2
A 35 kg beer keg is rolled up a 5 m long plank, which makes a 30 incline to the ground. What
Figure 9.17 is the GPE of the keg at the top (Figure 9.17)?
Beer keg being rolled up incline.
Solution
A 30 incline with an hypotenuse of 5 m has a vertical height given by: 5.0 sin 30 = 2.5 m.
m
5.0 h E P = mgh = 35 10 2.5 = 875 J
30 In summary, gravitational potential energy is defined as the energy associated with the
state of separation between bodies that attract each other via the gravitational force.
Mathematically, EP = mgh. This of course will only be true over distances where the gravita-
tional force remains constant. When you get too far away from the Earths surface this
relationship does not hold.
Questions
8 A brick of mass 2.5 kg is lifted to a height of 2.5 m above the ground by a
bricklayer. Calculate (a) the GPE acquired by the brick; (b) the work done by
the bricklayer in lifting it.
9 Assume that 1 kJ of work is done in lifting a 30 kg steel ball from the ground to
the top of a tower. How high is the tower?
10 A 75 kg skier travels down a 40 slope a distance of 100 m. What is his change
Have you ever tried to compare in potential energy?
airconditioner specifications?
Its most confusing. We know
that 1 horsepower (HP) is
equivalent to 0.746 kW, but we P OW E R 9.7
saw an airconditioner at school
that said 2 HP (4.6 kW). What A horse generates about 1 horsepower; a Corolla engine develops about 57 kilowatts of
the ! The problem is that HP
power. Which is the stronger? A horsepower (hp) is the old measure of power output where
is the output of the motor,
whereas kW is the output of the 1 horsepower equals 746 watts, so the car is more powerful. The word power comes from
cooling system after the losses Anglo-Norman poer = ability to do things. Power is a measure of the rate of energy output
due to conversion of electrical it has the units joules per second (J s1). One J s1 is called 1 watt (W) in honour of
energy to heat energy have James Watt (17361819), a Scottish physicist who was the inventor of the first practical
been taken into account. steam engine. One of his engines, the 26 hp Boulton and Watt, was restored in 1971 and is
The formula is: kW motor now in operation pumping water on the Kennet and Avon Canal in the UK.
efficiency = HP 0.746.
So what is the percentage
efficiency of the school P = W = E
airconditioner?
t t
What is the power output of a cyclist who transforms 2.7 104 J of energy in 3.0 minutes?
In 1894, bored British house-
Solution husband J. C. Ware cycled on a
stationary bike for 16 hours
P= W and used 42 kJ. What was his
t average power output?
2.7 104 J = 150 W
=
180 s
Example 2
A 52 kg student runs up a flight of stairs of vertical height 3.0 m in 4.7 s. Calculate the power
output.
Solution
P= W
t
= mgh
t
52 10 3
=
4.7
= 330 W (about half a horsepower)
A c t i v i t y 9 . 7 Y O U R P E R S O N A L P OW E R O U T P U T Figure 9.18
1 Measure the vertical height of a flight of stairs. If you have

access to a building with several storeys this is even better.
2 Use a stopwatch to time yourself running up the flight of stairs.
3 Measure your mass on some bathroom scales and calculate your h
power output.
4 If you use a multi-storey building, how does your power output
over the first flight compare with the output over the last flight?
Typical results for Year 11 boys and girls is about 500 W. The Grand Rialto Stair Trek is
a race held annually to see who can run up the steps of one of the tallest buildings in N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
the world. The record is held by a 66 kg man who can run up the 122 steps (vertical Postulate 1: knowledge = power
height = 247 m) in 6 min 55 s. Show that his power output is 374 watts, or about a Postulate 2: time = money
half-horsepower. The best result is for a 60 kg woman who did it in 7 min 58 s (304 W). As every physicist knows:
work = power
time
Power and velocity Since knowledge = power, and
time = money, we have:
The original definition of power was for the unit horsepower. It was defined as the rate of work = knowledge
energy needed to lift a 550 pound weight at a speed of 1 foot per second upward. As weight money
is a measure of force, it implies that power is the product of force and velocity (P = Fv). Solving for money, we get:
This can be shown mathematically: work = money
knowledge
Thus, as knowledge approaches
W Fs
P = = zero, money approaches infinity
t t regardless of the amount of
s work done.
As = v, then P = Fv
t Evaluate the conclusion:
The less you know, the more
you make.

Example
An upward force of 6 kN is required to raise a mine cage vertically at a speed of 2.5 m s1.
Calculate the power output of the motor lifting the mine cage.
Solution
P = Fv = 6 10 3 2.5 = 15 000 W
A c t i v i t y 9 . 8 P OW E R PA C K E D
1 Car power Use the Guinness Book of Records to find out the most powerful
production car ever made. It seems a long time ago, doesnt it? Obtain a brochure
or magazine with your most desirable car in it and note its power output.
How many of them would be needed to equal the power of the worlds most
powerful car?
2 Microwave power Put 1 L of tap water in an icecream container, measure its
temperature and place it in a microwave oven. Run for 1 minute on high. Stir it,
take the temperature again and calculate the power output by using the
formula: P = 70 T watts. Take note of the ovens power rating, usually
stamped on a tag on the back. Calculate the efficiency of transferring electrical
energy to heat energy in the water. Compare notes with others in your class.
Which model is the most efficient? Where do the losses occur?
Questions
11 The worlds most powerful windmill is the turbine built in Orkney (UK). Its
blades are 60 m long and it was turned on in a hurricane in 1987. It now
produces enough electricity for 2000 houses at an average of 1.5 kW each.
Calculate the power output of the turbine.
12 Calculate the power involved in (a) lifting 100 kg on to a 1.2 m high bench
in 2 s; (b) raising a 2.7 t Land Cruiser up 1.9 m on a hydraulic hoist in 15 s.
13 A 2200 kg Ford Falcon accelerates from 10 m s1 to 15 m s1 in 20 s. Calculate
(a) the initial and final kinetic energy; (b) the work done; (c) the power
output (in kW) assuming all engine energy goes to changing the kinetic energy
of the car.
14 The engine of a jet aeroplane develops 2.5 MW of power when in level flight and
travelling at a constant speed of 14 m s1. Calculate the force being developed
by the engine (to overcome air resistance and generate lift).
15 James Watt defined the horsepower (hp) by measuring what weight of coal a
work horse could raise up a mineshaft at a standard 1 foot per second. He
found that it weighed 550 pounds. Show that a 550 pound weight being lifted
vertically at 1 foot per second equals 746 W (1 hp), given: 1 foot = 0.3048 m,
1 pound = 0.4536 kg. Use g = 9.81 m s2.
C O N S E R VAT I O N O F M E C H A N I C A L E N E R G Y 9.8
Mechanical energy was earlier described as including both kinetic and potential energy. The
total mechanical energy of a system can be defined as the sum of kinetic and potential
energy. Within an isolated system this mechanical energy is conserved.
For example, when a ball is thrown upward in the air, it starts with a high kinetic energy Figure 9.19
and then at the top of its travel it has none. The kinetic energy has been transferred to EK = 0
gravitational potential energy. As it falls back to earth, it gains kinetic energy at the expense EP = mgh
of potential energy. The word potential comes from the Latin potens meaning able. In this
sense, the object with potential energy is able to do work.
Consider a ball dropped from a high cliff (Figure 9.19). If the ball had a mass of 1 kg and
the cliff was 100 m high, we can calculate the KE and GPE at any stage. The sum of the two
h
has to equal the potential energy at the start. Table 9.2 sets this out:
Ta b l e 9 . 2 C O N S E R VAT I O N O F M E C H A N I C A L E N E R G Y
1
EK = mv2
HEIGHT POTENTIAL ENERGY KINETIC
1
ENERGY TOTAL PE + KE VELOCITY 2
mgh (J) 2 (m s 1 )
(m) 2 mv (J) (J) EP = 0
100 1000 0 1000 0
75 750 250 1000 22
50 500 500 1000 32 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
25 250 750 1000 39 A roller coaster is made up of
0 0 1000 1000 45 three carriages A, B and C,
which enter a loop as shown.
The velocities can be confirmed by using your vertical motion formulas from Chapter 2. Which position 1, 2, 3
or 4 will give the greatest
speed for (i) carriage A,
Applications of energy transfers (ii) carriage B, (iii) carriage C?
The ability of mechanical energy to be converted into useful work has been known for thou-
sands of years. Some examples of transfers are discussed below. 3
Amusement parks 4 2
C B A
If you want examples of physics principles and laws being put to use then there is no better 1
place for an excursion than an amusement park. Newtons laws, conservation of momentum,
centripetal forces, rotation and weightlessness are all there.
Figure 9.20
A total energy Energy changes during a roller
D
E (kJ)
GPE coaster ride.
KE
0
C
E A B C D E
distance along track
The roller coaster is a good example of conservation of mechanical energy. Electrical

energy is used to propel the carriages to great heights, giving them high gravitational poten-
tial energy. At the point of release, the kinetic energy is almost zero but as they roll down the
tracks, GPE is converted to KE and the carriages accelerate. At the next hill, some of the KE
is converted back to GPE but some is transferred to thermal energy (by friction) and sound
and can never rise to the previous height.
If there was no transfer to the structure, then mechanical energy would be conserved and
the sum of GPE and KE would be constant. But there always is some loss and the designers
take this into account. On rainy days, however, the losses become quite small as frictional
losses are reduced and high speeds result. Sometimes the speeds are too high and the roller
coaster has to be closed down.

Photo 9.1
The feeling of weightlessness on the
A c t i v i t y 9 . 9 A DAY AT T H E F U N PA R K
Tower of Terror ride at Dreamworld.
1 Next time you visit an amusement park, make a video of the roller coaster ride
from the ground.
2 From the videotape, devise a way of measuring the speed of the carriage as it
travels around the circuit.
3 Calculate the KE at various sections of the circuit (top of ramp, bottom of ramp, top
of loop etc.). Plot these on a graph to show the changes. Estimate GPE at the same
points and add these to your graph. What assumptions did you have to make?
Activity 9.10 DREAMWORLDS TOWER OF TERROR

The Tower of Terror is a 400 m track that stretches for 300 m horizontally before curving
upward for 100 m (Figure 9.21). A 6 tonne pod with 16 people aboard (total mass about
7000 kg) is accelerated from rest (point A) to 160 km/h (at point B) along the horizontal
section by electromagnets that draw 2.2 megawatts for 6 s. After this the pod goes
unassisted into a vertical curve of radius 100 m, which gradually tightens to a curve of
Photo 9.2 radius 50 m (point C) before travelling vertically for the last part of the trip (Photo 9.1).
The tower at Dreamworld is used for
the Tower of Terror ride and the By this stage 12 s has elapsed (point D). In another 12 s the pod will be back to the start.
Giant Drop.
Figure 9.21
Tower of Terror T
O D braking region
dimensions. W
E
R
O
115 m
F
T
E
R
R C aC = 4.5 g
O start
R
6 tonne pod
= 160 km/h
B A
300 m
330 m
1 If all of the kinetic energy is converted to GPE, to what height will the pod rise?
2 At the top of the curve (point C), the centripetal acceleration is 4.5 g. Calculate
the velocity at this point.
3 Why does the curve start with a radius of 100 m and then decrease to 50 m. Why
not go straight into a 50 m curve?
4 Do the data suggest that the initial acceleration (from A to B) is uniform? Explain.
5 At what stage are you weightless? Explain.
Figure 9.22
A ballistic pendulum, formerly used to
measure the speeds of rifle bullets. The ballistic pendulum
A ballistic pendulum is a device that was used to measure the speeds of bullets before elec-
tronic timing was developed. The device consists of a large block of wood hanging by two
long cords from the ceiling. When a bullet is fired into the wood, the bullet quickly comes to
rest. The block with the embedded bullet swings upward to a maximum vertical height, which
is measured. (Figure 9.22.)
We can let m be the mass of the bullet, and M the mass of the block. On collision,
momentum must be conserved so if we assign u as the bullets velocity and v as the velocity
bullet
of the bullet + block after collision:
m M
h mu = (m + M)v
v wood block
or v = mu
m+M
Since the bullet and block stick together, the collision is perfectly inelastic. But mechan-
ical energy is conserved and all of the kinetic energy is transferred to gravitational potential N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
energy. So the kinetic energy of the block at the bottom of its arc must equal the potential A pendulum bob on a string is
energy at the top of its swing. allowed to fall but the string
We can eliminate v from the equations: strikes a peg. If the length of
L is 2.5x, the bob has zero
1
(m + M)v 2 = (m + M)gh velocity when it gets to the
2
suspension point P.
or v 2 = 2gh; v = 2gh Can you prove this
mathematically?
Example pivot
L
mu
= 2gh
m+M x
m+M
u= 2gh peg
m
A bullet of mass m = 9.5 g was fired into a block of mass M = 5.4 kg and the block rose a
vertical distance of 6.3 cm. Calculate the speed of the bullet.
Solution
u = m + M 2gh
m
9.5 103 + 5.4
= 2 9.8 6.3 102
9.5 103
= 630 m s 1
In practice, it is easier to tie a piece of cotton thread to the pendulum, and the sideways
motion (the amplitude) is indicated by how far the piece of thread is dragged along the floor. I N V E S T I G AT I N G
By knowing how long the pendulum is, the vertical displacement h can be calculated. If you ever go on the Tower of
Terror, take a small piece of bark
Human energy conversions and release it in front of your
face as you start to go up.
Do you do any work to carry a bag while walking along a horizontal road? The force needed to
What do you notice on the way
carry the bag is vertical (the weight) but the displacement is horizontal (along the road) so no
up and down? Surprised huh?
work is done. The bag has no additional potential energy or kinetic energy than it had to start Explain that if you can!
with. But you have used energy and you would feel tired. Where has this energy gone?
A great deal of the energy has gone into internal energy transfers. Your body burns fuel to
keep the muscles working. What is overlooked in this description is that the bag and your body
move up and down as you walk. Your centre of gravity bobs like a bouncing ball rather than
travelling smoothly like riding along on a bike.
As each foot strikes the ground your body drops down and then as you step forward your
body rises again. This is shown in Figure 9.23.
(a) head (b) Figure 9.23
Note that the head and hips of a person
walking move in a wave motion. They
appear to move up and over the support
leg and come down again as the foot
touches the ground. In figure (b) the
hips stride length is increased and the rise
and fall of the wave increases.
L L R R R L L
L L R R R L L
ground
L R L L R L
walking running
The up and down motion is a change in potential energy. A typical vertical displacement
is 3 cm per step.

Example
A 60 kg student is walking at 1 m s1 with a stride of 50 cm. During each step his centre of
mass rises and falls by 3 cm. Calculate (a) the work being done against gravity for each step;
(b) the rate at which work is being done.
Solution
(a) W = mgh
= 60 10 0.03
= 18 J (per step)
(b) Each step is 50 cm so he makes two strides in one second.

Each stride uses 18 J so the work done is 36 J in one second.
P = W = 36 = 36 J s 1 = 36 W
t 1
The up and down motion is the main use of energy in running and walking. Athletes try
to minimise this vertical motion just watch hurdlers in action and you will see how little
the centre of gravity changes as they go over the hurdles.
Easy rollers low friction tyres

While energy is expended when you walk or run because your body bobs up and down, you
would expect very little energy loss with a rolling tyre. In this case there is no vertical motion
of the centre of gravity. Unfortunately as a tyre travels along a road it undergoes two types
of deformations a macro-deformation and a micro-deformation. The first flattens the tyre
tread against the road, creating a large footprint. This is responsible for rolling resistance,
which is unwanted, so the smaller the better. The second is a micro-deformation in which tiny
irregularities in the road surface make imprints in the tread, and is responsible for the trac-
tion or friction between the surfaces. This is desirable so the bigger the better. A question
you could ponder: do racing car slicks maximise the micro-deformation and minimise the
macro-deformation?
At 100 km h1, a tyre rotates about 20 times a second, with every part of the tyre flexing
during each revolution. Most of the energy needed to cause flexing is transferred to heat
within the tyre as the polymer chains slip over one another. If you feel a tyre after a trip,
youll note that the tyre is hot. Scientists are trying to develop polymer compounds that
spring back into shape without generating heat. Michelin tyre scientists have found that by
introducing silicon dioxide into the rubber, reductions of up to 40% in rolling resistance can
be achieved. Such tyres are not in commercial production yet, but are expected to be much
more expensive when they become available.
Stopping powerful locomotives

station
Figure 9.24
London Underground.
braking accelerating
region h slope
When deep sections of the London Underground railway were being constructed, the track at
the stations was built at a higher level than the track between the stations (Figure 9.24). Trains
approaching a station are decelerated by running up the slope, thus losing kinetic energy
and gaining potential energy and at the same time reducing brake wear. Conversely, trains
leaving the station are accelerated by running down the slope and saving on fuel. It all seems
so logical youd wonder why it was not thought of earlier. The system is ideal when trains stop
at every station and is easy to construct when a new underground line is being built. It is not
very practical on surface lines. Per kilogram, humans produce
Underground trains can accelerate faster, too, not only if they have slope-assisted depar- 10 000 times the energy
tures but because of the higher coefficient of friction. Being underground, the lines are pro- produced by the Sun.
But which produces the greatest
tected from rain, dust and dirt so coefficients of friction of about 0.2 are typical, whereas on
total heatthe Sun or all the
a good day above ground the coefficient is about 0.1 and can fall to 0.05 in wet weather.
people on the Earth? Calculate
Acceleration is limited by the maximum frictional force that can be achieved (recall that the the energy output of the Sun by
frictional force equals the coefficient of friction times the weight: Ff = FN). Trains used to estimating the population of the
have a sandbox located just in front of the drive wheels of the locomotive. On steep tracks Earth, the average mass of a
sand was let out to increase the friction. Pretty ingenious, eh? person and knowing that the
average heat output of a person
Activity 9.11 SOME MORE GUINNESS is 12 megajoules per day.
Using the Guinness Book of Records, find where in the world the steepest railway is. The
one at Katoomba NSW relies on a cable to pull it up the incline, but where is the steepest
that uses wheel friction only?
Questions
16 Using conservation of mechanical energy principles, calculate the impact speed
of a 65 kg diver who dives off a platform 8.5 m above the water.
17 Champion weightlifter Leonid Taranenko lifted 266 kg in a snatch and jerk to a
height of 2.4 m. Calculate (a) how much work he did lifting this; (b) the impact
speed when he dropped the weight on to the mat from this height.
18 A 0.41 g air-rifle pellet was fired into a 112.3 g toilet roll target suspended from
the ceiling by a piece of thread. This ballistic pendulum rose 1.5 cm vertically.
Calculate the muzzle velocity of the pellet.
9.9 E L A S T I C P OT E N T I A L E N E R G Y
When an archer pulls back on the string of a bow, work is done and energy is stored. When
the string is released, most of the stored energy is transferred to the arrow as kinetic energy.
The bow stores energy as elastic potential energy (EPE).
Photo 9.3
Pole vaulter. These photos were taken at
Elastic potential energy is the energy stored in a spring or other elastic body by evenly spaced time intervals. They show
virtue of its distortion, or change in shape. that the elastic potential energy stored
in the bent pole is returned to the
vaulter, to increase his gravitational
Examples include: potential energy, and his kinetic energy so
that he can clear the bar.
rubber band on a speargun
springs on a trampoline
compressed gas in a nailgun
flexible pole in a pole vault
bungee rubber rope
a polymer bumper bar on a car
vehicle suspension springs or gas shock absorbers.
Springs
When a spring is stretched (action) there is a restoring force (reaction), which tries to restore
the spring back to its original length. The two forces are equal but opposite in direction.

Figure 9.25 Imagine a spring hanging vertically with a ruler beside it as shown in Figure 9.25. As
Hookes law experiment. masses are added the spring stretches under the applied force (the weight of the masses).
0 A graph of force applied versus the extension of the spring is shown in Figure 9.26. The slope
of the line (Fx) is called the spring constant (k) and in the graph shown, its value is
172 N m1. In Chapter 4 this was discussed in detail you may remember the formula
F = kx. The stiffer the spring the greater the spring constant. This relationship is called
Hookes law after Robert Hooke, an English scientist of the late 1600s. He didnt publish his
findings in a journal as scientists do today. He wrote it in a letter as CEIIINOSSSTTUV, which
can be rearranged into the Latin ut tensio sic vis meaning the force is proportional to the
displacement. He wanted to be credited with the laws discovery so he secured it by the time-
metre rule
honoured device of the anagram. That way he could claim to be first without letting anyone
know the details.
Figure 9.26
60
Applied force (N)

60
slope =
0.35
40 = 172 N m1
100
20
Figure 9.27
The forces acting on a stretched spring.
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

Extension x (m)
As the weight on a spring is increased, the spring stretches a little until it comes to equi-
librium again. This is due to the fact that the spring exerts an equal but opposite force on
the masses. This is shown in Figure 9.27. As the added force acts through a certain distance
it implies that work is done. Where did the energy of this work go? It did not go into
original increased gravitational potential energy, nor did it go into increasing the kinetic energy of
spring = F = kx length the spring. The energy went into stored elastic potential energy (EPE) of the spring.
force
extension In the graph shown in Figure 9.28, the area under the line is a measure of the work done,
which equals EPE.
weight = F = mg
w
force
mass carrier
Figure 9.28
kx
F=
Force applied (N)
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E kx
A spring has an unladen length
of 10 cm. With a mass of 1 kg
added it stretches to 20 cm.
Three springs identical to the work = area = EPE
first one are arranged in the
pattern shown in the diagram. x
How far down will they stretch Extension (m)
when 1 kg is added?
1
10 Area of triangle = 2 base times height = 12 x times F = 12 x times kx.
20
X m
(cm) Note: the symbols used here can be confusing. We will be using x for displacement and
30
for multiplication (times) to avoid confusion.
40
E P or EPE = 12 kx 2
Example 1
A spring with a spring constant of 250 N m1 is stretched to a distance of 15 cm beyond its
natural length. How much energy is stored in the spring? The spring constant is also
called the elastic modulus. In
Solution maths, modulus is the number
by which two given numbers
EPE = 12 kx 2 = 12 250 0.15 2 = 2.8 J can be divided and produce the
same remainder. These meanings
seem to be unrelated. Find out
Example 2 what the Latin modus means to
A 200 g block of wood is travelling horizontally at 0.6 m s1 and strikes a spring that has a explain this.
spring constant of 15 N m1 (Figure 9.29). Calculate the maximum compression of the spring.
Figure 9.29
x
v = 0.6 m s1
frictionless
Solution
Assume all of the KE is converted to EPE.
1
EK = mv 2
2 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
1
EP = kx 2
2 A spring 20 cm long has a
1 2 1 2 spring constant (modulus)
Hence: 2 mv =
2 kx
of 86 N m1.
mv 2 kx 2
=
If the spring is cut into two
2
x = mv 10 cm lengths, what will the
k modulus of each half be?
= 0.069 m
A c t i v i t y 9 . 1 2 H OT L I P S Figure 9.30
The limit of elasticity is eventually
Hold a rubber band against your bottom lip. Stretch it tightly and note the temperature reached.
change. Let it go back to normal size and note how its temperature changes again. Can
you explain this in terms of changes to the elastic potential energy and work being done?
Elastic limit Hookes

law region
Limit of
elasticity
Force (N)
Many solids behave as if they are atoms or molecules linked together like a spring. When they
are compressed or stretched by an external force they obey Hookes law. However, every
material has a limit to the amount of compressing, stretching or bending it can take.
When Hookes law is no longer obeyed, the object is said to have reached the elastic limit
(Figure 9.30). A spring that has been stretched beyond the elastic limit will no longer return
Extension (m)
to its original length and its spring constant will change.

Questions
19 A catapult operates with the aid of a spring that has a spring constant of
265 N m1. Determine the amount of energy imparted to a rock if the spring is
compressed a distance of 34 cm prior to release.
20 The graph in Figure 9.31 shows the extension of a spring when a force is applied
to it. Using the graph, determine:
(a) the work done in stretching it to 20 cm; (b) the spring constant;
(c) the EPE stored in it when it is stretched 17 cm.
Figure 9.31
Force applied (N)

For question 20.
40.0
20.0
A spring is 10 cm long. When a
0.6 kg mass is attached and
allowed to fall the spring
stretches by 0.76 cm.
10.0 20.0
Do you have enough information Extension (cm)
to calculate the spring constant?
21 A 336 t locomotive is moving at 5 km h1 when it bumps into a carriage that has
a spring bumper. If the spring has a spring constant of 4 108 N m1 calculate
the maximum compression of the spring.
Figure 9.32
It is well known that bullets and other
missiles fired at Superman will simply Human springs
bounce off his chest.
In a previous example it was shown that walking and running use up energy because of the
ZZ
PP-M
-MA
ANN bobbing up and down of the body. But not all of the energy used to raise the body is lost
when it falls. Some is stored as elastic potential energy in the muscles, tendons and bones of
ZZA
A BADMAN the foot and leg. Researchers have found that the Achilles tendon in a runners leg stretches
by about 5% on impact and can return more than 90% of the absorbed energy to the muscles
75c of the calf. The foot, by virtue of the arched bones and tendons, can also act like a spring.
Deformation of the arch on impact stores the energy elastically and can return about 80% of
it. A typical runner loses about 100 J of kinetic and gravitational potential energy at each
step but because the foot and leg return a large proportion of this energy back on rebound,
the runner effectively only loses about 50 J the rest is returned.
Professional running tracks can increase this rebound energy transfer. Most are made of
NEWS
FLASH a rubber compound that feels quite springy and when a typical runner depresses the track
Inside about 7 mm or so, about 90% of this energy is returned. Figures show that a 3% increase in
speed can be attained.
FINISHING UP WITH SUPERMAN 9.10

This chapter concludes separate treatment of mechanics and kinematics. However, knowledge,
processes and reasoning developed in these nine chapters will be used over and over through-
out the rest of your course.
Lets look at Superman to see how our knowledge and reasoning can put some myths
to rest.
1 Energy of the leap Superman can leap tall buildings at a single bound because he grew
up on Krypton where gravity was so strong that the inhabitants needed superstrength
to stand up. One early leap by Superman was described as covering an eighth of a
mile (200 m). Using projectile formulas we can show that he would have to have a
launch velocity of 160 km h1. That is indeed faster than a train, to quote an early
Superman description. But as Superman matured, the description became faster than
a speeding bullet, which as you may recall is about 990 m s1 (3500 km h1). This A reverse bungee is a long
corresponds to about 50 million joules of kinetic energy for a man of normal weight. elastic cord hanging in a V
configuration (as shown in
Superstrength doesnt exempt you from the law of conservation of energy, and to
the diagram). It is stretched
gain that energy from food requires more than 20 Big Macs just to do it once. The and held in position by an
conclusion: Clark Kent must eat like a pig. electromagnet before being
2 Force and acceleration How much force must go into Supermans legs to reach released. It rises and goes
3500 km h1 and thus leap a tall building in a single bound? If he is pushing off 100 m above the top support.
against the ground he has to reach this speed before his feet leave the ground, a Prove that the elastic spring
distance of say 50 cm. This corresponds to an acceleration of about 106 m s2 constant equals 2 103 N m1.
(100 000 g). This means that his legs have to exert a force of about 108 N, that is,
max. height
100 000 times his own weight. This is the same as the weight of about 10 000 t of
lead. The thrust of the worlds most powerful rocket motor (the Russian NI rocket 100 m
booster) is only 4620 t. Superman could easily stop a speeding locomotive.

3 Flying In recent stories, Superman has been shown changing directions in mid-air.
With a take-off speed of 3500 km h1, he could reach an altitude of 50 km in one unstretched
leap. But Superman cant turn off air resistance. For a body of Supermans size, his distance
terminal velocity is about 200 km h1. This means even if he survived a take-off blast
stretch
that started him off at 3500 km h1, he would slow down and complete his flight at
200 km h1. Some high-speed skiers do a little better than that; they achieve a
speed of 250 km h1 by streamlining their bodies with skintight suits and special
aerodynamic headgear.
I N V E S T I G AT I O N
4 Vacuum travel As a boy, Superman carried his earthling father to the Moon without
the benefit of a pressurised suit just a helmet. Even if the fathers clothing didnt This is a good extended
burn up from air friction at lift-off, it wouldnt stop his dear dads blood from boiling experimental investigation.
What factors influence the range
in the vacuum of space. And as Superman is not rocket-propelled, how can he change
of an arrow shot from a bow
directions if he has no air to push against? Surely he doesnt violate the law of (angle of elevation, draw)?
conservation of momentum! What provides the centripetal force that enables him to Experienced archers shoot
travel in a circle? One possibility for his rocket thrust is his superbreath. He might feathers instead of plastic vanes
just blow his superbreath out in front of him and thereby be pushed backward. Some (fletches) because they argue
diapraghm he must have. Imagine its spring constant value! that feathers result in higher
arrow velocities, greater
5 Light speed Supermans orbital flights pose yet another problem. He is known to
stability, better guidance, higher
circle the Earth at seven times per second. This corresponds to the speed of light. accuracy and more forgiving
Using centripetal force formulas, it can be shown that to stay in a low earth orbit at flight. Heres their argument.
this speed he would have to develop about a billion tonnes of thrust (1013 N). First, feathers are faster because
Chapter 30 (Relativity) has further problems examining travel at speeds close to that feathers weigh much less than
of light. Youll soon see that Superman knows little about senior physics. A very plastic vanes. This means less
mass to accelerate and less
limited achievement for him.
energy wasted. Feathers
Maybe we should look at the Terminator, the Killer Tomatoes, Cinderella, Peter Pan, the Easter typically save 40 grains (2.6 g)
Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. No fantasy is safe from a physicist. over plastic. This is a lot of
surplus mass 30% of a
typical 125 grain (8.1 g) steel
Practice questions head. Second, feathers produce

less friction as they travel over
the arrow rest or other bow
The relative difficulty of these questions is indicated by the number of stars beside each parts. Less friction means higher
question number: * = low; ** = medium; *** = high. speed. Third, the superior
guidance of feathers prevents
yawing and fishtailing of the
*22 A light bulb consumes 60 J of electrical energy per second but only converts this arrows. Yawing and fishtailing
to 18 J of light energy. add drag and slow arrow speed.
(a) What is the efficiency of the bulb? What do you make of these
(b) Where does the remaining 42 J go is it lost? arguments?

*23 A force of 90 N is applied to a string attached to a sled that makes an angle of

35.0 to the floor. How much work is done on the sled in dragging it across the
lawn a distance of 10.0 m?
*24 A car is pulling a loaded trailer in a easterly direction along a horizontal road at
constant speed. A forcedisplacement graph is shown in Figure 9.33. Calculate
the work done by the car.
Figure 9.33
For question 24.
Force (N)
Displacement (m)
*25 Calculate the kinetic energy of a 60 g air hockey puck sliding at 8.0 m s1.
*26 What amount of energy is consumed by a 2000 W jug that took 1 minute
45 seconds to boil a cup of water?
*27 A body of mass 10 kg travelling east at 4 m s1 strikes a 3 kg mass at rest.
After the collision they remain coupled and the mass moves east at 3 m s1.
Is the collision elastic or inelastic?
*28 Calculate the GPE of a 50 kg bag of cement lifted 1.4 m from the ground to a
mixer bowl.
*29 A 65 kg student runs up a 12.0 m flight of stairs in 14 s. Calculate his power
output.
*30 Using conservation of mechanical energy principles, calculate the impact speed
of a 2 kg rock dropped off a cliff 8.5 m above the water.
*31 A spring with a spring constant of 150 N m1 is stretched to a distance of 25 cm
beyond its natural length. How much energy is stored in the spring?
*32 The graph in Figure 9.34 shows the extension of a spring when masses are added
to it. Using the graph, determine:
Figure 9.34 400

For question 32.
350
300
Mass (g)
250
200
150
100
50
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Extension (cm)
(a) the work done in stretching it to 18 cm;

(b) the spring constant;
(c) the EPE stored in it when it is stretched to (i) 10 cm; (ii) 20 cm.
**33 In Figure 9.35, a sequence of drawings shows a high jumper in action. The
changes in mechanical energy during the high jump (Fosbury flop) are shown in
Figure 9.36.
(a) Match the numbered drawings with the three phases of the jump.
(b) The total energy at the peak height appears to be greater than the initial
energy. If energy is conserved, how can there be energy created as the
graph suggests?
(c) Shouldnt potential energy start at zero in the graph? After all, they do
start from ground level!
(d) Extrapolate the graphs (on your own paper, not in this book) to show how
the curves might look after the jumper clears the bar and lands flat on her
back on the landing pad. Give an appropriate name to this phase.
(e) Would the GPE on landing be the same as at take-off? Explain.
Figure 9.35
Stages of a Fosbury flop.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
take-off peak Figure 9.36

height Energy changes in a Fosbury flop.
ergy
total en
gy
ner
t i al e
ten
po
Energy
kin
eti
ce
ne
rgy
strain energy
run-up phase take-off phase flight phase
Time

***34 A 1.6 kg ball collides with a 2.4 kg ball as shown in Figure 9.37. After the
collision the balls continue to travel, as shown in the diagram.
(a) What is the velocity v ?
(b) Is the collision elastic or inelastic? Show your proof.
(c) If the velocity of the 2.4 kg ball was in the opposite direction initially,
could the velocity of the 1.6 kg ball after the collision be in the direction
shown in the figure?

Figure 9.37 Initial

For question 34. 5.5 m s1 2.5 m s1
1.6 kg 2.4 kg
Final
v 4.9 m s1
1.6 kg 2.4 kg
***35 In a ballistic pendulum experiment, a bullet of mass 4.5 g was fired horizontally
into a block of mass 3.4 kg suspended by a string 2.0 m long. The block and
embedded bullet moved sideways a distance of 53.5 cm. Prove that the vertical
displacement is 7.3 cm and then calculate the speed of the bullet.
***36 Approximately 5.5 106 kg of water drops 50 m over Niagara Falls every second.
If all of the waters potential energy could be converted to electricity, how much
money could the owners get if it was sold at the industrial rate of 2 cents per
megajoule?
***37 A Toyota Camry uses about 11.5 L of petrol per 100 km.
(a) If petrol provides 31 MJ per litre, how far could you travel on 1 MJ of energy
consumed?
(b) If you are driving at 60 km h1, at what rate would you be consuming energy
(in watts)?
***38 A 0.63 kg ball is thrown straight up into the air with an initial speed of
14 m s1 and reaches a maximum height of 8.1 m before falling back down
again. Assuming that the only forces acting on the ball are the balls weight
and air drag, calculate the work done on the ball during the ascent by the air
drag.
Photo 9.4 ***39 American advertising agency McCann decided to bungee jump a GMC Jimmy
Jimmy goes bungee jumping. Sports Utility off a West Virginian bridge to show how well the truck was made.
They used a 30 m rubber bungee cord used by the US army for supporting tanks
during air drops. It had nine individual cords, each about 12 cm diameter.
When released from the top of the bridge, 267 m above the river, the 1587 kg
ute stretched the cord to six times its length before returning upward for a few
more bounces. Neglecting air resistance, are you able to calculate the spring
constant k of the bungee cord? If so, what is it? If not, what other information
do you need?
***40 A tough one. A body of mass 2.0 kg makes an elastic collision with another body
at rest and continues to move in the same direction but with one-fourth of its
original speed. What is the mass of the struck body?
***41 A London Underground train consisting of a locomotive and 30 carriages with a
total mass of 1586 tonnes travelling at 28 km h1 is slowed by travelling up a
slight incline to the horizontal platform. If it is raised vertically by 1.2 m over
a distance of 300 m, calculate the speed of the train at the top of the incline,
assuming no braking takes place.
***42 The spring of a spring gun is compressed a distance d or 3.2 cm from a relaxed
state, and a ball of mass m = 12 g is placed in the barrel. If the spring constant
is 292 N m1, with what speed will the ball leave the barrel once the gun is fired?
Assume no friction and a horizontal gun barrel.
***43 The Greek historian Herodotus said it took 100 000 men 23 years to build the
Great Pyramid at Giza but we dont believe him. The total GPE of the pyramid
can be found by the formula GPE = h2 d s2 g/12 where h = the height (146.7 m), (Answer true or false)
d = density (2700 kg/m3) and s = the side (230.4 m). But you have to add on Energy gets used up or
the GPE of the stone blocks when they were raised the 19 m from the quarry to runs out.
the base of the pyramid (GPE = mgh). The mass can be found by multiplying the Something not moving cant
density by the volume (V = s2 h/3). If an Egyptian man can generate 160 kJ of have energy.
A force acting on an object
energy per day, show that the average number of men over the 23 years was only
does work even if the object
2845 and not the 100 000 Heroclotus claimed.
doesnt move.
***44 Have you ever been in a high-rise building that sways in the wind? Tall buildings
oscillate with periods between 0.5 s and 10 s. To reduce the amplitude of the
sway, engineers place tuned dynamic dampers on the roof (see Figure 9.38).
These are large blocks of concrete attached by springs to the side of the Figure 9.38
building, and can slide from side to side on a film of oil. A typical spring has a For question 34.
spring constant of 50 000 N m1. What mass of concrete would be needed to
concrete
damp the oscillations of a building with the most sickening period of 5 seconds? block
Engineers use the formula:

T = 2 m
k oil
***45 Imagine a block of wood held at the top of an inclined plane. At the bottom is a skyscraper
spring, attached to the plane. Write a question based on this and make up any
data that may be required for the question. In fact, make up more data than is
required. Write out a solution and ask a colleague (or even your teacher) to
solve it.

UNIT 04
Thermal Physics
CHAPTER 10
H e a t a n d Te m p e r a t u r e
10.1 H E AT A N D H U M A N S
Heat, and the lack of heat, have been important to humankind since the earliest times.
Heat from the Sun and the cold of winter have always affected living conditions. From early
childhood, hotness and coldness are two of the first feelings children encounter. Children
experience these conditions early in life by sucking an iceblock or walking on a hot road.
In fact it is the temperature change that initiates breathing when a child is born. The indus-
trial revolution was based on heat and the generation of mechanical power from heat. Many
industries in modern-day life are solely centred around the production of heat or the
purposeful removal of heat, for example refrigeration, airconditioners and pot-belly stoves.
A c t i v i t y 1 0 . 1 H OT S P OT S
People have always wondered about the extremes of temperature. Consult the Guinness
Book of Records or the Internet to find:
the highest and lowest recorded human body temperature
the places on earth that recorded the highest and lowest temperature
the highest and lowest temperature ever achieved on Earth.
But what is heat?
10.2 H E AT A N D T E M P E R AT U R E
Up to the eighteenth century heat was regarded as some sort of invisible fluid, a caloric fluid
that bodies possessed. Hot bodies, it was believed, contained more of this fluid than cold
bodies. When a body was warmed this caloric fluid was added to the body. But this did not
explain why two ice cubes melted when they were rubbed together.
handle Figure 10.1

A schematic diagram of Joules apparatus
string used to investigate the relationship
between mechanical and thermal energy.
pulley
vanes weight
weight
thermometer
insulated
container
water

Figure 10.2 English scientist James Joule (181889) was one of the first scientists to show that
The energy contained in a ball in flight heat was a form of energy. He performed an experiment in which falling lead weights turned
due to its motion and height.
paddles in water. The work done by these weights caused the water to heat up. He showed
that mechanical energy can be converted into heat. Joule concluded that heat is a form of
energy, but what form does it take?
Consider a student throwing a ball. (See Figure 10.2.)
What energy does the ball possess?
Some might say it has kinetic energy because of its motion. Others might say it has
potential energy due to its height above the ground. Some would say both. Is that all the
energy it possesses?
Now consider the same student throwing a box full of bees (Figure 10.3). What is the
total energy of the container?
It is easily seen that the container possesses both kinetic energy due to the motion of
the box, and potential energy due to its height above the ground. However, it also possesses
the kinetic energy the bees themselves might have.
Figure 10.3 Up to this time we have considered the bulk energy of objects and not the internal
The energy contained in a box of bees,
including motion of the bees. energy the particles in the objects might possess. All objects contain particles, atoms and/or
molecules, and it is the motion of these particles that makes up the internal energy of
the object. This motion can be vibrational kinetic energy, as in solids; or rotational and
translational kinetic energy, as in fluids. The particles of matter also possess many forms
of potential energy in the bonds that hold particles together, as well as that stored in the
nucleus of the atoms. (See Figures 10.4(a), (b) and (c).)
(c)
(c)
(a) molecules
(a) bonded
together
(b)
(b)
bonds allow
vibration
Figure 10.4
(a) A model of the movement of the
molecules in a solid. The springs
represent the molecular bonds.
(b) A representation of the The sum of the kinetic and potential energies of all the particles is called the internal or
molecules of a liquid. They vibrate
and are able to flow over one
thermal energy of the object. Heating is the term used when some of the thermal energy is
another. (c) The molecules of a gas transferred from hot objects to cold objects as in the case of a hot spoon being placed in cool
have greater freedom. They have water. The term heat is used to describe the internal energy transferred through this heating
rapid straight line motion.
process. The study of these energy transfers is called thermodynamics (from the Greek
thermos meaning heat, and dynamis meaning powerful).
It would be impossible to measure the motion of all the particles within a substance
Figure 10.5 because of the number of particles and the great variation in speeds of the particles. Figure
The distribution of speeds of the
molecules of a gas at various
10.5 indicates the variation of molecular speeds of a gas at various temperatures.
temperatures. However, as objects gain heat and become hotter, the particles move faster. Temperature
is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the
0C particles of the object. Changing the potential
number of molecules
energy of a substance without changing the

Percentage of total
average kinetic energy of its molecules does not

500C change the temperature of the substance. This
occurs when a change of state occurs. That is,
1000C
when a substance changes from a solid to a
liquid, or a liquid to a gas, or vice versa. A
common misconception is that heat and tem-
Speed of molecules (m s-1)
perature are the same, which is not the case.
H e a t a n d Te m p e r a t u r e 241
Figure 10.6
The flow of thermal energy
10.3 THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM from the molecules of a hot

to those of a cold body.
Everyone has observed that when a cool spoon is placed in a hot cup of coffee it eventually
becomes hot as hot as the coffee. Or when you use a thermometer to measure a persons
temperature the thermometer becomes as warm as the person whose temperature is being
measured. How does this occur?
Consider a closed system (a system where there are no energy losses to the environment)
in which a hot object A is in contact with a cooler one B. (See Figure 10.6.)
Because A is hot it contains more thermal energy than B, and its molecules have more
potential and kinetic energy. The molecules move faster in object A than they do in object A
B. When A and B are placed in contact the molecules of A collide with the molecules of B,
transferring kinetic energy to them. This causes the molecules of B to vibrate further apart,
thus increasing object Bs potential energy. Object Bs thermal energy has increased. At the
same time the molecules of A have slowed down and vibrate closer together, thus decreasing
As kinetic and potential energies. Object A has lost thermal energy. Thermal equilibrium is
reached when the energy given to B equals the energy B is giving back to A. As the law of
conservation of energy is true for all forms of energy:
B
heat lost by object A = heat gained by object B
So when you use a thermometer to measure a childs temperature, molecules of the N OV E L C H A L L E N G E

child in contact with the thermometer jostle the molecules of the glass, which in turn jostle During the Second World War,
the molecules of the mercury in the thermometer. The mercury expands, indicating the Nazi scientists threw many
temperature on an appropriate scale of temperature. prisoners overboard into the
freezing waters of the North
Sea to see how fast their body
Activity 10.2 FREEZING temperature dropped and how
long it would take for them to
1 Find out which freezes first a cup of hot water or a cup of cool water placed die. Today, such data are needed
in the freezer. by ocean rescue researchers to
help to develop safety devices
2 Do pets have the same body temperature as humans? for ocean users.
Should we use this despicable
Questions Nazi science? Develop an
argument for or against its use.
1 Which has more thermal energy: a cup of water at 100C or a bath full of water
at 40C? Why?
2 Steam at 100C will give you much more severe burns than water at 100C. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
(a) In which one are the molecules moving the faster? The table below shows the
(b) In which one do the molecules have greater potential energy? effects of changes to body
(c) Why are steam burns more severe? temperature:
T (C) Effect
3 (a) What is the name given to the internal energy of a substance?
37.0 1 normal oral
(b) What form(s) of energy does this involve? 35 shivering
4 If James Joule did 100 J of work on several quantities of water 100 mL, 34 slurred speech
300 mL and 500 mL: 33 hallucinations
(a) which sample would gain the most thermal energy? Why? 32 shivering stops
(b) which samples temperature would increase the most? Why? 30 unconsciousness
26 appears dead
Death is defined as a failure to
10.4 M E A S U R I N G T E M P E R AT U R E revive on rewarming above
32C. When people freeze to
death in cold water it has been
Measuring temperature requires the use of some property of a substance that changes reported that they do not seem
proportionally with increase in temperature. The property that most temperature measuring to be in pain as they die. They
instruments use is expansion and contraction. This is the property used in most thermo- often seem relaxed. What could
meters. The most common is mercury-in-glass or alcohol-in-glass thermometers that have be happening here?

reading
Figure 10.7 scale
0C 100C
The liquid-in-glass thermometer.
glass stem vacuum
been calibrated to indicate the temperature. As temperature increases, the mercury or alcohol
expands up a fine tube in the glass thermometer. The markings on the thermometer depend
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E on the scale used. (See Figure 10.7.)
At what temperature will C Throughout history scientists made up their own scales to measure temperature. Sir Isaac
and F readings be the same? Newton made up a temperature scale where the freezing point of water was 0 and normal
Could the Kelvin temperature body temperature was 12.
reading ever be the same as
C or F reading?
The Fahrenheit scale
A German physicist, Gabriel Fahrenheit (16861736), developed a liquid-in-glass thermometer
and a temperature scale that took the freezing point of an ice and salt mixture to be 0F.
He took the freezing point of pure water as 32F and normal body temperature to be 96F.
The boiling point of water is then 212F. This scale is no longer used in Australia but
Figure 10.8 is still in use in several other countries such as the USA, UK and Canada. The conversion is
A Celsius thermometer, a common C = (F 32) 59 .
thermometer used in the laboratory
and in the home.
The Celsius scale
An easier decimal scale was invented by a Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius (170144).
On the Celsius scale, also called the centigrade scale, the freezing point of pure water is 0C
100 boiling point
of water
and the boiling point is 100C. Interestingly, he originally took the freezing point to be
90 100C and boiling point to be 0C, but this was changed in the first year. This is the main
scale used in measuring body temperature. (See Figure 10.8.)
80 Did you know that the body temperature of a baby is higher than that of an adult? Did
you know also that aspirin is used to lower the body temperature?
70
60 The Kelvin/absolute temperature scale

50
The two previous scales are relative scales. That is, zero degree on either scale does not mean
that this is the lowest temperature obtainable. Since temperature is a measure of the
40 human body average kinetic energy of the particles, 0C does not mean that all particle motion has
temperature stopped. Then at what temperature does all motion stop? This point would be the true limit
30
of coldness and would produce an absolute zero temperature. Lord Kelvin (18241907)
20 suggested this temperature was 273.15C.
When a sample of gas of constant volume is heated its pressure varies with Celsius tem-
10 perature, as shown in Figure 10.9. Extrapolation of this graph suggests that, at 273.15C,
the pressure becomes zero and therefore all particle motion stops. This is because pressure is
0 freezing point
of water
caused by particles colliding with the container walls and if there is no motion there are no
10 collisions and therefore no pressure. This point is called absolute zero on the Kelvin scale of
temperature. However, one degree on the Kelvin scale is equal in magnitude to one degree on
20 the Celsius scale.
Pressure (Pa)
Figure 10.9
The relationship between temperature
and pressure, and the establishment Temperature (C)
of absolute zero.
300 200 100 0 100 200 300
273C
Therefore changing Celsius temperature to Kelvin temperature simply requires the Figure 10.10
addition of 273 (to three significant figures) to the Celsius value. Figure 10.10 shows a A comparison of temperature in
degrees Celsius and Kelvin.
comparison between the two scales.
Kelvin temperature = Celsius temperature + 273 C K

K = C + 273 100 373
Example 1
Convert 50C to kelvins. 40 313
Solution
0 273
K = C + 273
= 50C + 273
= 323 K
Example 2 273 0
Convert 486 K to C.
Solution
K= C + 273
486 = C + 273
486 273 = C
= 213C
Questions
5 Convert the following temperatures to K: (a) 20C; (b) 150C; (c) 520C; Figure 10.11
(d) 72C; (e) 300C. A constant volume gas thermometer a
6 Convert the following temperatures to C: (a) 50 K; (b) 278 K; (c) 1000 K; (d) 50 K. thermometer that relies on the relation-
ship between temperature and pressure.
Other types of thermometers

Even though the liquid-in-glass thermometers are the most widely used in science and in
general, they have their limitations. This is mainly due to the liquid freezing or boiling.
Alcohol-in-glass thermometers can be used between 100C and 80C. Mercury-in-glass
thermometers have an operating range of 40C to 360C. Glass is also fragile, and mercury scale
is toxic to the body and the environment.
Gas thermometers rely on the expansion of gas. Since change in temperature is propor-
tional to the change in volume of a gas, the expansion of a gas can be calibrated to measure
temperature. gas mercury
Resistance thermometers use the fact that electric current in wires decreases as tempera-
ture rises.
Thermocouples consist of two wires made of different metals. The wires are made into a
loop including a voltmeter. One end is kept at a reference temperature and the other end is
used as a probe. (See Figure 10.12.) When this probe is placed in a substance to be measured
the voltage produced is proportional to the difference in temperature between the two ends.
Thermocouples can be used to measure temperature over a wide range.
Bimetallic strips rely on the different expansion rates of two different metals. When
heated one metal expands more than the other, causing bending and movement of a pointer
across a scale. These have a wide working range.
In liquid crystal thermometers numbers on a scale are made of different crystalline
chemicals. As temperature increases these chemicals change their crystalline structure, which
results in colour changes. These are not very accurate.
Pyrometers measure the radiation given off by objects. The characteristic of the radiation
changes with temperature. Infrared pyrometers can measure temperature from 20C to
1500C. Body temperature is routinely monitored in clinical settings with infrared ear

thermometers, which measure the infrared energy emitted from the patients eardrum in a
calibrated length of time. A short tube with a protective sleeve is inserted into the ear, and
a shutter is opened to allow radiation from the tympanic membrane to fall on an infrared
detector for 0.1 to 0.3 seconds. The device beeps when data collection is completed and a
readout of temperature is produced on a liquid crystal display.
Thermistors are semiconductor devices that change their resistance with change in
temperature. When these devices are heated their resistance decreases and more current flows.
The current is measured on an ammeter, which is calibrated to read temperature.
S P E C I F I C H E AT C A PA C I T Y 10.5
Figure 10.12 Do all objects increase their temperature at the same rate as they are heated?
A thermocouple a thermometer Because of the great variation in molecular structure and bonds that exist between atoms
consisting of two dissimilar metals. The in different substances, energy put into different substances does not result in the same
difference in the temperatures of the
two ends produces a voltage. This can be temperature rises. For example, when walking along a beach on a hot day the sand is a lot
calibrated to read temperature. hotter than the grass or puddles of water. This is because sand only requires 880 J of heat
steel probe energy from the sun to raise 1 kg of sand by 1C. Water requires 4200 J.
This property is called the specific heat capacity, c, of the substance. It is defined as the
amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1C or by 1 K
copper (a change of 1C is equivalent to a change of 1 K).
Heat capacity is the term used to describe the amount of heat an object contains.
Different materials of the same mass and at the same temperature contain different amounts
copper voltmeter calibrated of heat energy. That is, they require different amounts of heat to heat them up and they give
to read temperature out different amounts of energy in cooling down. For example, which contains the more heat
a BBQ plate at 120C or a coin at the same temperature?
The specific heat capacity of some common substances is given in Table 10.1.
Ta b l e 1 0 . 1 S P E C I F I C H E AT S O F S O M E C O M M O N S U B S TA N C E S
Figure 10.13
A bimetallic strip thermometer. The SUBSTANCE SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY
difference in expansion rates between c (J kg 1 K 1 )
the two different metals causes a
pointer to move across a scale. Lead 130
Mercury 140
brass Copper 390
Iron and steel 460
Glass 664
scale Sodium chloride 880
Sand 880
steel
cold Aluminium 900
Wood 1700
Steam 2020
Ice 2100
hot Paraffin 2200
Honey 2370
Alcohol 2450
Methylated spirits 2500
Water 4200
Which substance has the highest specific heat capacity?

This is important. Because water has a high specific heat capacity compared with other
substances, interesting uses are made of water. Water is used in cooling systems in motor
cars. One kilogram of water can take away 4200 J of heat from the engine of a car before
its temperature changes by 1C. What would happen if alcohol was used? The oceans
temperature changes by small amounts compared with the land mass from winter to summer
and from day to night. Humans are composed of approximately 70% water, which results in
humans responding less to external temperature changes than if they were composed of
different materials. Consider how Superman (the man of steel) would be affected by changes
in the external temperature.
A useful equation to determine the specific heat of a substance is:
Q = mcT N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
When you eat ice cubes, your
where c is the specific heat capacity in J kg1 C1, Q is the quantity of heat in J, m is the body uses up energy to melt
mass of the object in kg, T is the change in temperature in C. them and warm them up to body
Note: if T is negative then this is the quantity of heat given off by an object. temperature.
Does this mean eating ice would
Example 1 help you lose weight? Could you
If it takes 4000 J of heat energy to raise the temperature of a 2 kg object by 10C, what is say they have negative joules?
the specific heat capacity of the object?
Solution
Q = mcT
4000 = 2 c 10 In 1700, Dr Charles Blagden
c = 2.00 10 2 J kg 1 K 1 took some friends, a dog and a
raw beefsteak into a room at
3
127C for 4 hour. They all came
Example 2 out unharmed except for the
How much heat is required to bring a saucepan containing 500 mL of water at 20C to steak, which was cooked. Why?
boiling point? (1 L of water has a mass of 1 kg.)
Solution
Q = mcT
= 0.5 4200 (100 20)
= 0.5 4200 80
= 1.68 10 5 J
Example 3
If it takes 2850 J of heat to raise the temperature of a 1.5 kg object by 5C, what substance
could the object be made of?
Solution
Q = mcT N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
2850 = 1.5 c 5 Imagine that you added equal
c = 3.80 10 2 J kg 1 K 1 volumes of water and oil to
The substance is made of copper (from Table 10.1). separate beakers and placed
them on a hotplate. And after
5 minutes the water began
Example 4 boiling.
A 2 kg block of iron at 25C is heated by placing it in hot water. If it obtains 4500 J of heat Which liquid would be at the
from the water, what is the final temperature of the iron? higher temperature? Which liquid
would have the greater total
Solution thermal energy?
Q= mcT
4500 = 2 450 (T f T i)
4500 = 900 (T f 25)
Tf = 50 + 25
Tf = 75C

Questions
7 Calculate the heat energy absorbed when 1.5 kg of paraffin is raised from 15C
to 50C.
8 How much heat could be absorbed by a 3 kg block of ice at 10C before it
reaches its melting point?
9 A liquid is heated in a beaker. If it is found that it takes 7500 J of heat to
increase the temperature of 500 g of the liquid by 6C, what could the liquid be?
C A L O R I M E T RY 10.6
If two substances are placed together in a closed system, that is, one where no energy can
escape to the surroundings, then the heat energy lost by one object in the exchange is equal
to the heat energy gained by the other. For example, when a cool teaspoon is placed in a hot
cup of coffee the heat lost by the coffee and the cup is equal to the heat gained by the spoon.
Heat lost by one substance = heat gained by the other

Q lost = Q gained
Figure 10.14
A calorimeter a device used to
This principle is just an extension of the law of conservation of energy energy is not
measure heat exchanges effectively lost or gained, just transferred or transformed.
by minimising heat losses to In practice there is always some heat lost unless insulation is ideal. However, heat
the environment. losses to the surroundings can be minimised if experiments are carried out quickly. Scientific
thermometer experiments also use calorimeters (Figure 10.14), which have good insulation to limit the loss
of heat to the surroundings. The process is called calorimetry.
cover
Example
If 100 g of alcohol at 50C is mixed with 250 g of water at 20C, what is the final tempera-
ture of the mixture?
Solution
cup
Q lost (alcohol) = Q gained (water)
water (mcT) alcohol = (mcT) water
0.1 2450 (T f 50) = 0.250 4200 (T f 20)
insulation
245T f + 12 250 = 1050T f 21 000
12 250 + 21 000 = (1050 + 245)T f
33 250 = 1295T f
Tf = 25.5C
Note: the negative sign indicates a loss.
A common mistake among
lower primary students is to
say that, when two identical
Questions
glasses of water both at 10 A 50 g copper mass is heated by placing it in boiling water. It is then placed in a
40C are mixed, the final beaker containing 250 g of an unknown liquid at 20C. The final temperature of
temperature will be 80C. the weight and the liquid is found to be 25C. What is the specific heat of the
Write an explanation suitable liquid? (Assume no heat is lost to the surroundings.)
for a Grade 3 student about 11 A 1500 W electric jug is used to heat 500 mL of water. Calculate the time for the
why this is not true. Then jug to raise the temperature of the water from room temperature, 20C, to boiling
explain why you add the point. (Note: 1500 W means it supplies 1500 J of heat energy every second.)
volumes together The density of water is 1000 kg m3.
(1 cup + 1 cup = 2 cups).
12 In an experiment, 500 g of copper at 80C is dropped into 1 kg of kerosene at
20C. The mixture reached a temperature of 25C. What is the specific heat
capacity of kerosene?
10.7 C H A N G E O F S TAT E
Up to now we have only considered substances changing their temperature as heat is added Figure 10.15
or taken away. The objects remain in the same state of matter. We will now look at what An effect of heat on the three states
of water.
happens when substances change state, that is, change from a solid to a liquid, a liquid to a
gas, or vice versa. This is also called change of phase. steam
only
What is happening when a block of ice changes to water involves an understanding of 100
thermal energy and the structure of matter. In Section 10.2 the internal or thermal energy of water
Temperature (C)
and
a substance was defined as the total energy possessed by the particles of the substance. This water
steam
only
is made up of both kinetic and potential energies. In solids, like a block of ice, the particles
are held firmly in position by the bonds between the particles. They contain kinetic energy in
0
the form of vibrational motion, as well as several forms of potential energy. As the ice is ice and heating
water
heated, the vibrational motion and therefore the kinetic energy and temperature increase. As -30 ice cooling
the particles vibrate faster they spread apart, also increasing their potential energy. As heat- only
ing continues the vibrations increase until the molecular forces are no longer strong enough
to hold the particles together in fixed positions. The particles break free and are able to slide
past one another. The solid melts. It requires a large amount of energy to break the bonds and
increase the potential energy of the particles. When this is occurring the addition of thermal
energy does not go into changing the kinetic energy of the particles but into increasing N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
the potential energy. Since temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the At the Le Mans race in France
particles, the temperature does not increase. Thus when a solid melts by the addition of heat, there is 14 km of track and cars
the potential energy of the particles increases without a change in temperature. This is shown reach 360 km h1 (100 m s1).
graphically in Figure 10.15. At the end of the straight
The amount of energy required to melt 1 kg of a substance is called the specific latent drivers approach Mulsanne
Corner at 250 km h1 and jam
heat of fusion. (The word latent means hidden.) Why is this heat hidden?
on their brakes to go through
To change 1 kg of ice at 0C to water at 0C requires 3.34 105 J of energy. Therefore ice
the corner at 56 km h1. The
has a specific latent heat of fusion of 3.34 105 J kg1. disc rotors glow red hot and
The reverse is also true; to change 1 kg of water at 0C to ice at 0C, that is, to freeze sometimes reach 800C. If a
the water, requires the removal of 3.34 105 J of energy. The specific latent heat of fusion disc rotor (there are four) is
differs for different substances because of their different bonding. The specific latent heats 30 cm in diameter and made
of fusion of some substances are given in Table 10.2. from steel 0.8 cm thick (density
7.8 g/cm3), and is 400C before
Ta b l e 1 0 . 2 T Y P I C A L L AT E N T H E AT S the corner, show that 95% of
the kinetic energy is transferred
to heat.
SUBSTANCE SPECIFIC LATENT HEAT OF FUSION SPECIFIC LATENT HEAT OF VAPORISATION
L f (J kg 1) L v (J kg 1)
Mercury 1.18 104 2.90 105
Lead 2.30 104 8.64 105
Gold 6.30 104 1.64 106
Silver 1.05 105 2.36 106
Alcohol 1.09 105 8.70 105
Aluminium 1.80 105 1.14 107
Copper 2.05 105 4.82 105
Iron 2.76 105 6.29 106
Water 3.34 105 2.25 106
After melting, the addition of heat results in an increase in the kinetic energy (now
translational, rotational and vibrational) as well as the potential energies of the liquid. Thus
temperature again rises, as shown in Figure 10.15.
As the temperature increases some particles begin to break the cohesion forces holding
them together. The forces of attraction between the particles become very weak and the
particles move more freely. The substance changes state from a liquid to a gas. At a certain
temperature any added thermal energy goes into changing the potential energy of the

particles, causing the particles to break the cohesion forces. Again at this point the tem-
perature does not increase as there is no increase in the kinetic energy of the particles. This
is shown in Figure 10.15. This temperature is called the boiling point of the liquid.
It again requires large amounts of thermal energy to change 1 kg of a liquid to a gas or
vapour. For example, it requires 2.26 106 J of energy to change 1 kg of water at 100C
into steam at 100C. The thermal energy required to bring about this change is called the
specific latent heat of vaporisation.
Specific latent heats of vaporisation of other liquids are given in Table 10.2.
The reverse is again true. It requires the removal of 2.26 106 J of thermal energy to
change 1 kg of steam into water without change in temperature.
The heat required to melt a mass of a substance is given by the equation:
Q = mL f
where Q is the heat required in J, m is the mass of the substance in kg, Lf is the specific
latent heat of fusion of the substance in J kg1.
Similarly, the energy required to vaporise a liquid is given by the equation:
Q = mL v
where Lv is the specific latent heat of vaporisation.

Example 1
How much energy is required to change a 2 kg block of lead to liquid at its melting point?
Solution
Q = mL f
= 2 2.30 10 4
= 4.60 10 4 J
Example 2
An ice tray containing 200 g of water at 25C is placed in the freezer. How much heat
energy has to be removed to change the water into ice at 4C?
Solution
Q = (mcT) water + mL f + (mcT) ice
= 0.2 4200 (25 0) + 0.2 3.35 10 5 + 0.2 2060 (4 0)
= 21 000 + 0.668 10 5 + 1648
= 8.94 10 4 J
Questions
13 Find the energy required to melt 2.5 kg of gold at its melting point.
14 Copper has a melting point of 1083C. Find the energy required to melt 200 g of
copper originally at room temperature of 22C.
15 A 2.0 L bottle of water at 20C is placed in the freezer of a refrigerator. How
much heat must be removed by the refrigerator to freeze this water?
16 A child wanting to make a cordial ice block places 200 g of cordial at 25C in the
freezer. If the freezer can remove energy at the rate of 25 joules per second,
what time will it take for the cordial to freeze? (Assume the specific latent heat
and specific heat capacity of cordial are the same as water.)
17 Two ice blocks of mass 20 g each are placed in 500 g of water at 40C. What
will be the final temperature of the mixture? (Assume no heat is lost to the
container or the surroundings.)
10.8 CHANGING THE MELTING AND BOILING POINTS

Most substances have fixed melting and boiling points as long as they are in pure form. Values
given in scientific data are for pure substances. However, the melting point and boiling points
can be changed by adding impurities to the substance or by pressure changes. For example,
if salt is added to water the melting point is lowered. That is, it freezes at a temperature
lower than 0C.
Why do councils in some cold countries put salt on the road?
Why do motorists add another liquid to their radiator in these countries?
Adding impurities raises the boiling point of liquids. If salt is added to water, the water will
boil above 100C.
How does this affect the cooking rate of potatoes and pasta that are cooked in salty
water?
Pressure changes also affect the freezing and boiling points of liquids. Increased pressure
lowers the freezing point of liquids that expand when they freeze, such as water, but it raises
the freezing point for those that contract when they freeze. This is because increasing
pressure pushes the molecules closer together, therefore increasing the temperature at which
molecules are attracted to each other and form solids. The following are two examples of this
phenomenon.
If two ice blocks are squeezed together they will melt, but if this pressure is released
the water between them will refreeze, gluing them together.
A thin wire with two weights will cut easily through a block of ice. Why?
Pressure changes also affect the boiling point of a liquid. Increasing the pressure increases
the boiling point of a liquid, and decreasing the pressure decreases the boiling point.
Why is it hard to get a good cup of tea on the top of Mount Everest?
Pressure cookers rely on this property. When the lid is placed on the pressure cooker and
the cooker is heated, the pressure can be about twice the normal air pressure. The water boils
at about 120C, and therefore the food cooks faster.
Where else is this principle used?
10.9 E VA P O R AT I O N
Liquids can change state without boiling. This process is going on all the time in nature.
Puddles of water on the road dry up even when the weather is cool. Aftershave and perfume
soon disappear from the skin. This is the process of evaporation.
The latent heat of vaporisation plays an important part in evaporation. For molecules of
a liquid to change state and become gaseous molecules they require energy. All the molecules
in a liquid do not have the same kinetic energy; when molecules evaporate, the faster (hot- Figure 10.16
In a closed container the rate of
ter) molecules near the surface of the liquid leave first and the slower molecules remain evaporation is equal to the rate
behind. So when water evaporates from the skin your skin feels cooler because the average of condensation, reducing the
kinetic energy of those molecules remaining is less. This process, together with sweating, acts loss of liquid.
as a cooling mechanism for our bodies. When the sweat evaporates from our skin, the skin molecule
returning
feels cooler. If there is a breeze blowing, the sweat evaporates faster producing a greater
cooling effect.
How can you tell the direction of a breeze by holding up a moist finger?
Evaporation from a container can be stopped or reduced by putting on the lid. In a closed molecule
container two processes are occurring: the evaporation of molecules from the liquid and leaving
the condensation of molecules back to liquid. If the gaseous molecules are not removed, an
equilibrium is reached in which the number of molecules leaving the liquid is equal to the water
number going back into the liquid. (See Figure 10.16.)

Questions
18 A few years ago it was not uncommon to see cars travelling in country areas
with porous water bags made of canvas attached to the front of the car. Why was
the temperature of the water in these bags cooler than that of the air?
19 Why does your skin feel cool after placing an alcohol-based aftershave or
perfume on it? This is even more evident if you are in a breeze or you blow
on it. Is this related to the pain-relief sprays used by footballers?
L AW S O F T H E R M O DY N A M I C S 10.10
What happens when you place a cold body in contact with a warm one, for example, placing
an ice cube in a glass of water?
I N V E S T I G AT I N G The answer to this has already been discussed. As the molecules collide energy is trans-
How could you measure the ferred from those that contain the most to those that contain less, that is, from the hot body
uneven heating across the to the cool one until equilibrium is reached.
carousel inside a microwave if Heat flows from the hotter body to the cooler one.
you were given a thermometer, Under perfect conditions where energy is not lost to the surroundings, the energy lost by
some water and a dozen little the hot body is equal to that gained by the cool one.
plastic containers that rolls of What are other ways of heating up a cool body, that is, giving the molecules of the cool
film come in? Be extremely
body more energy? Think of how you heat up your hands on a cold morning. By rubbing your
careful if you choose to try it.
hands together the mechanical energy of your moving hands, with friction, causes your hands
Start with a low time first, say
20 seconds. Why?
to become hotter.
James Joule (as previously discussed) increased the temperature of water by using the
potential energy of the falling weight.
I N V E S T I G AT I N G The thermal energy of a system can be increased by adding heat to it or by doing work
on it.
After inventing the first,
The total increase in the thermal energy of an isolated system is equal to the sum of the
second and third laws of
thermodynamics, physicists
heat added to it and the work done on it. This is the first law of thermodynamics. Notice
decided they had a zeroth law. this is just an extension of the principle of conservation of energy.
What on Earth is that? The second law of thermodynamics formulated by a German physicist Rudolf Clausius
(182288) relates heat transfer to differences in temperature. For example, what are some
devices that take heat out of objects or the air?
Some you may have guessed are: refrigerators, airconditioners, freezers, or even the
cooling system of a car.
Each of these devices takes heat from something and transfers it to something of lower
temperature. What would happen if the car was driven in a place where the atmospheric
temperature was higher than the temperature of the car engine?
This is one of the reasons it is suggested that it is impossible to obtain a temperature of
zero kelvins. There is no place to transfer the heat, no point of lower temperature.
To transfer internal energy from a low temperature heat source to a higher one requires
work, such as the work done by the motor in a refrigerator or an air conditioner.
Consider now a hot body which is placed in contact with a cold body. Heat is transferred
from this hot body to the cold body and after a time equilibrium is reached. If it is an
isolated system there is no loss in energy in the process but the system has lost its capacity
T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G to do work. There is no longer as great a temperature difference. This is seen in the example
of placing a block of ice in hot water. Before placing the ice in the water the molecules of the
Heat and temperature are the
ice are in a well-ordered crystalline arrangement. After the equilibrium temperature is reached
same thing. the molecules are in a less ordered, more random motion. The molecules of the ice have
Heat and cold flow like liquids. become less ordered. The scientific term that defines the orderliness of the molecules is
The hotter of two objects entropy.
contains the more heat. Entropy is a measure of the disorder of a system. The more disorder the greater the
entropy. Natural processes always go in a direction that causes an increase in the total
entropy of the universe. This is the second law of thermodynamics. This law would indicate
that the availability of energy in the universe is decreasing.
You can, of course, have a decrease in entropy in one part of the universe (e.g. freezing
water) but there is an overall greater increase in entropy elsewhere (e.g. heat produced at the
rear of the refrigerator).
Practice questions
*20 Compare the temperature and thermal energy of a cup of coffee at 90C and a
swimming pool at 22C.
*21 Four different masses of the same metal, 100 g, 200 g, 500 g, and 1 kg, were
heated by a 2000 J energy supply. If the 100 g mass changed its temperature by
5C, what would have been the temperature changes of the other three?
*22 State two reasons why a mercury-in-glass thermometer could not be used to
measure the temperature of a pottery kiln.
*23 Convert the following Celsius temperatures to kelvins: (a) 290C; (b) 25C;
(c) 59.2C.
*24 Change the following Kelvin temperatures to C: (a) 69 K; (b) 1376 K;
(c) 345.6 K.
*25 1500 J of energy is used to heat a 400 g sample of iron initially at 28C. What
would be the final temperature of the iron?
**26 A beaker containing 200 g of mercury at 15C was placed in a freezer. Find the
energy removed from the mercury if it cooled down to 4C. Would the freezer
have to work harder if the beaker contained 200 g of water instead of mercury?
Explain!
**27 An electric kettle was used to heat 500 g of water at 20C. If the kettle can
supply energy at the rate of 1500 J per second, and was turned on for one and a
half minutes, what was the final temperature of the water?
**28 A 200 g bar of aluminium was heated in a bunsen burner until its temperature
was 150C. It was then plunged into a beaker containing 500 g of paraffin at
50C. What was the final temperature of the mixture?
*29 Why is heat needed to change a solid to a liquid but the substance does not
change temperature?
*30 Explain why steam at 100C would be more effective in heating a cup of milk to
make coffee (a cup of cappuccino, for example) than water at 100C?
**31 Dry steam is used to make a cup of coffee by bubbling it through water. If the
steam is at 100C, what mass of steam must be used to heat 200 g of water from
25C to 95C?
**32 An electric kettle, rated at 2 kW, is filled with water and its total mass
determined. The kettle is switched on and the water is allowed to boil for a
further 60 s after coming to the boil. The kettle is found to be 80 g lighter.
Calculate the specific latent heat of vaporisation. Suggest why this value differs
from the stated value of the latent heat of vaporisation.
*33 Suggest the weather conditions that would make clothes on an outside line dry
faster.
*34 State two ways in which boiling is different from evaporation.
*35 State two ways in which the rate of evaporation can be increased.

Figure 10.17 36 Figure 10.17 shows the relationship between the temperature of 100 g of an
A heating curve for question 36. unknown substance and the time it is heated by a 1000 W source.
(a) What is the melting point of the substance?
250 (b) What is the boiling point of the substance?
(c) How much energy is required to melt the substance?
Temperature (C)
150
(d) What is the specific latent heat of fusion of this substance?
(e) What is the specific latent heat of vaporisation of this substance?
(f) Calculate the specific heat capacity of the substance in the liquid state.
**37 While carrying out an experiment to measure the boiling point of water at
80 various altitudes, students found that instead of the boiling point decreasing as
they went higher in the mountains, the temperature rose slightly. Suggest why
0 this might have occurred.
20 150 180 1200 1300
10 **38 Students performing an experiment on naphthalene to discover how its
Time (s)
temperature changed with time allowed hot naphthalene to cool down.
Table 10.3 lists their results.
Ta b l e 1 0 . 3
Time (minutes) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Temperature (C) 103 93 83 80 80 80 80 75 70 65 60
(a) Plot the graph of temperature against time.

(b) Explain what is happening between the times of 3 minutes and 6 minutes.
***39 An electric shower unit is rated at 5 kW. If water enters it at 15C and leaves it
Figure 10.18 as hot water at the rate of 5 kg per minute, what is the temperature of the hot
For question 40.
water?
***40 An iron rod of mass 100 g and 4 cm in diameter was placed in a furnace and
heated until its temperature reached 150C. It was then placed on its end on top
iron rod
of a large block of ice (temperature of 0C). (See Figure 10.18.) How far into the
block of ice will the rod sink (assume no heat is lost to the surroundings).
***41 A block of ice of temperature 0C and mass 20 g was placed in a beaker and
weighed. The total mass was 55 g. Steam at 110C was ducted onto the ice until
the ice completely melted. Assuming no loss of heat to the surroundings, find
ice the mass of the beaker and its contents!
CHAPTER 11
Heat and Matter
11.1 INTRODUCTION
Why is it that you can smell if a gas tap has been left on when you walk into a
laboratory but you cannot smell the water spilt on the front bench?
Have you ever wondered why you can smell perfume or aftershave lotion?
Why are many of our anti-pollution laws, especially in very industrialised cities and
nations such as some cities in America and Japan, concerned with gases?
Can hot water freeze more rapidly than cold water?
The answer to each of these questions has something to do with the internal structure of
gases, liquids and solids. In this chapter we will look at the theory underlying this structure
and hence begin to understand the nature of gases.
11.2 THE KINETIC MODEL OF GASES

In the previous chapter we learnt that gases consist of particles that are relatively free in
their ability to move compared with those of liquids and solids. These particles also exert
almost no force on each other. Because of this the analysis of gas particles is easier. The N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
understanding of the nature of these particles plays an important part in the understanding Imagine a 1 cm square on your
of heat, heating, and temperature. skin. Every second there are
To simplify the understanding of how the motion of the particles of a gas affects the 1022 blows from air molecules.
properties of a gas, several assumptions are made about these particles. Can you detect it? If you cant,
Assumption 1 The particles of a gas are in constant random motion. They move at high give some reasons why you cant
speeds in straight lines unless they collide with the walls of the container or other particles. feel these blows. If the blows
These collisions are elastic (elastic means they do not lose kinetic energy when they collide). stopped, what would you feel?
This helps us to explain why gases mix so readily and why gases fill containers.
Assumption 2 The particles of a gas are separated by large distances compared with the
diameter of the particles, which are assumed to be negligible in size.
This explains why gases can be compressed and gas densities, in normal situations, are
very small compared with those of solids and liquids.
Assumption 3 The force of attraction between particles is negligible, because they are large
distances apart.
Assumption 4 Since heating a substance changes the motion of the particles of the
substance, the temperature of a gas is a measure of the average speed or kinetic energy of
the particles of the gas.
11.3 PRESSURE
The pressure of gases plays a major part in everyday life: the pressure of gases in the
atmosphere affects the weather; the pressure of air in tyres affects the ride of a car. But what
is pressure and how do the particles of a gas exert a pressure?

Pressure is the force per unit area (P = F/A)
Hence the unit of pressure is a newton per square metre (N m2) or the modern SI unit of
the pascal (Pa), named in honour of the French scientist Blaise Pascal (16231666).
The interchanging of the terms force and pressure is common with new physics students
Figure 11.1 but there are major differences that can be illustrated with the following example.
Pressure exerted by an object with the A rectangular solid of 2 kg mass is placed on a table as shown in Figure 11.1. The force
0.2 m 0.1 m face on the table.
this object exerts on the table is 20 N. (This is its weight.) But the pressure it exerts is deter-
mined by its area of contact:
20 N
0.1 m P = 0.2 m 0.1 m
0.1 m
0.2 m 20 N
=
0.02 m2
= 1000 Pa
Figure 11.2 But if the object is now placed on its end as shown in Figure 11.2, the force it exerts on
Pressure exerted by an object with the the table will remain at 20 N, but the pressure is now:
0.1 m 0.1 m face on the table.
P = F
A
0.2 m 20 N
=
0.1 m 0.1 m
20 N
=
0.1 m
0.01 m2
0.1 m = 2000 Pa
It can be seen that if the area of contact is small the pressure is very large. Why do
women wearing stiletto heels leave impressions on wooden or cork floors? (And it is not
because they are heavy.)
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Where else is this effect seen?
A matchstick is placed in a How does this affect our discussion of gases?
test-tube of water. When you When each gas particle collides with the wall of the container it exerts a force on a small
place your thumb over the top area of the wall. This collision produces pressure. Since gases contain many particles it is the
and press down, the match constant collisions with the walls of the container that result in the pressure of the gas in the
sinks. Propose a reason for this container. This can be seen when you blow up a balloon. When you start, it contains few
and test to see if were lying! particles, which make few collisions with the walls, resulting in low pressure. When the
balloon contains more particles there are more collisions, exerting greater pressure on the
walls, forcing the balloon to expand.
T H E G A S L AW S 11.4
The properties of a gas are easy to explain because the particles act independently without
exerting any significant forces on each other. This is true except in the extremes, when
the temperature is very low or when the pressure is high. In these circumstances the particles
are maintained in close proximity to each other. The properties of gases that play a part in
understanding the behaviour of gases are volume, pressure, temperature and the number of
particles in the sample.
The relationships between these variables have been investigated for centuries and affect
how we handle gases today.
Heat and Matter 255

Boyles law Figure 11.3

A device used to show the relationship
between pressure and volume.
One of the earliest scientists to investigate the relationships between the above variables was
the British chemist and physicist Robert Boyle (163791). By experimenting with gases he
established that the volume of a gas decreased as the pressure of the gas increased. If the
temperature of a confined gas sample was kept constant and the pressure on the gas masses
increased by placing more mass on a piston, as shown in Figure 11.3, the volume of the gas
piston
changed, as shown in Figure 11.4. This suggested that pressure was inversely proportional to
volume.
When the pressure was plotted against the inverse of volume, Boyle obtained a straight
line, as shown in Figure 11.5. This indicated that pressure is directly proportional to the
inverse of volume (P 1/V), confined
gas
or PV = constant
This relationship is known as Boyles law, which states: For a fixed mass of gas at
constant temperature the pressure of the gas varies inversely as the volume. This means
for a particular sample of gas at constant temperature an increase in pressure from P1 to P2
causes a corresponding decrease in volume from V1 to V2. Figure 11.4
Pressurevolume relationship of a
confined gas.
P 1V 1 = a constant = P 2V 2
or P 1V 1 = P 2V 2
160
150
Pressure (kPa)
This is normally how Boyles law is expressed when solving problems. 140
130
Example
120
A scuba diver releases a 1.0 cm3 bubble of gas at a depth where the pressure is 4 atmos-
110
pheres. What will be the volume of that gas at the surface where the pressure is 1 atmosphere
(assuming the temperatures are the same)? 100
75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
Volume (cm3)
Solution
P 1V 1 = P 2V 2
4 atm 1 cm 3 = 1 atm V 2
V 2 = 4 cm 3 Figure 11.5
Pressure vs 1/volume graph to
establish Boyles law.
Note: the units of pressure and volume are not that important as long as they are consistent.
That is, P1 and P2 have to have the same units and V1 and V2 as well. Some common units of
160
pressure are pascals (Pa), mm of mercury (mmHg) and atmospheres (atm).
150
Questions
Pressure (kPa)
140
1 A balloon of volume 2.0 L contains air at 230 kPa. What would be the pressure of 130
the gas when its volume is reduced to 0.50 L?
120
2 A hot-air balloon has a volume of 10 m3 at sea-level. The balloon then rises to a
height in the atmosphere where the pressure is 0.20 atmospheres. What would 110
be the resulting volume of the balloon? (Assume constant temperature.)
100
3 A diver dives to a depth of 40 m in fresh water where he releases a toy balloon 8 9 10 11 12 13
1
of volume 10 cm3. What will be the size of the balloon when it reaches the volume ( 10-3 cm-3)
surface? (The pressure increases at a rate of 1 atmosphere for every 10 m descent
in fresh water.)
4 A student testing Boyles law places masses on the top of a syringe as shown in
Figure 11.6. With 500 g on the top of the syringe the volume is 50 mL. What
mass will need to be placed on the piston for the volume to be 12.5 mL?

Figure 11.6
For question 4. Charles law
500 g mass A French scientist, Jacques Charles (17461823), investigated the relationship between the
volume of a confined gas and the temperature of a gas. For example, imagine heating a gas
syringe retort
plunger contained in a syringe in which the plunger is free to move and under atmospheric pressure.
stand
As the gas is heated the particles move more rapidly, making more frequent and forceful colli-
sions with the walls and the plunger. The plunger will move outwards to a position that
50 mL
syringe re-establishes the equilibrium between the pressure produced by the gas particles and atmos-
pheric pressure. The pressure and number of particles remain constant but the volume of the
gas increases with increasing temperature. This is shown graphically in Figure 11.7.
Notice that there is a direct relationship between volume of the gas and kelvin
syringe
temperature.
cap That is:
V T (kelvin)
Figure 11.7 V
Volumetemperature relationship for a or = constant
confined gas: notice that there is a T
direct relationship between the volume
V1 V
of the gas and its Kelvin temperature.
or = 2
T1 T2
V
Therefore, for a confined gas where the pressure remains constant the volume of the gas
is directly proportional to its kelvin temperature. This is Charles law.
This can very easily be seen by placing an inflated balloon in liquid nitrogen. The volume
will shrink considerably. A good result can be seen by placing the balloon in a freezer.
-273 0C
When Charles did this experiment he could not cool a gas below 20C so he had to
T
extrapolate the graph to meet the temperature axis. This occurred at 273C. This has start-
ling implications. It would suggest that the volume of a gas at 273C is zero. Charles law is
V true for real gases except at low temperatures, and since no substance can exist as a gas
below 2 K, it is theoretical and not practical outside this range.
Amontons law
Guillaume Amontons (16631705) was a French physicist who in 1699 discovered that equal
0K 273 K T changes in temperature of a fixed volume of air produced equivalent variations in pressure
(P T). This law is sometimes referred to as Gay-Lussacs law. Before chemical fireworks were
invented, the Chinese used to throw bamboo onto fires for amusement. The heat would
increase the pressure of the gas, causing the pressure of the trapped gas to increase and mak-
ing the chambers explode. Thats why we dont throw pressure-pack spray cans onto a fire.
Questions
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E 5 A balloon containing 40 cm3 of air at 25C is placed in the freezer where the
Put a lit candle in a jar with
temperature is 10C. What will be its volume in the freezer?
no lid and place on a record 6 At what temperature will a 500 cm3 balloon of gas at 300 K have a volume of
turntable. Before starting the 300 cm3, if the pressure remains constant?
turntable predict whether 7 Twenty litres of oxygen at 30C is cooled under constant pressure to 140C.
the flame will point inwards What will be the new volume of the gas?
or outwards. What if there is 8 A 100 cm3 balloon is filled with hydrogen at 20C. If the balloon is then released
no jar? to rise in the atmosphere to a height where the temperature is 50C, what will
be the volume of the balloon? (Assume constant pressure.)
Heat and Matter 257

The combined gas equation N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Boyles law, Charless law and Amontons law can be combined to obtain an equation that Landmines are deadly explosives
relates the pressure, volume and temperature of a fixed amount of gas. buried underground. They are
about 10 cm by 10 cm in area
Since:
and most require 500 kPa to
detonate. What mass of person
V 1/P (Boyles law) would it take to do that?
VT (Charless law)
PT (Amontons law)
T
then V
P
PV
then = constant
T
That is, for a fixed mass of a particular gas:
P1V1 P2V2
=
T1 T2
This is called the combined gas equation. Notice that for this equation to hold,
temperature has to be measured in kelvins. Pressure and volume can be in any units as long
as they are consistent across the equation.
Example
A 0.20 L sample of gas at room temperature (20C) and atmospheric pressure is heated to
200C and allowed to expand to 0.30 L. What will be the new pressure of the gas?
Solution
20C = (20 + 273) = 293 K.
200C = (200 + 273) = 473 K.
P1V1 P2V2
T1 = T2
1 atm 0.2 L / 293 K = P 2 0.3 L / 473 K
(1 0.2) / 293 473 / 0.3 = P 2
P 2 = 1.08 atm
Questions
9 A tank of volume 0.025 m3 containing a mixture of nitrogen and helium gas is
used to inflate party balloons. The pressure in the tank is 2.0 107 Pa and at a
temperature of 293 K. How many balloons of size 0.0010 m3, at a temperature of
300 K and at atmospheric pressure, can be filled from the tank?
10 A tank containing 200 L of hydrogen gas at 20C is kept under a pressure of
200 kPa. The temperature is raised to 90C and the volume decreased to 150 L.
What is the pressure of the gas in the container?
11 Oxygen gas is released from a cylinder at the rate of 10 m3 per hour at
atmospheric pressure. If it is sold at a pressure of 200 atm and has a volume of
2.0 m3, for how long will it supply oxygen?

The ideal gas equation

The four variables previously discussed that affect the nature of a gas were:
volume
temperature
pressure
the number of particles in the gas.
So far in each of the previous laws we have considered the number of particles in the gas
to be constant. Suppose we measure the temperature, pressure and volume of a gas and then
keep the temperature and volume constant but introduce twice the number of particles into
the container. What will happen to the pressure? Because the pressure of a gas is due to the
collisions of the particles on the walls of the container, the pressure will be twice the original.
There are twice as many particles so there are twice as many collisions. Pressure is therefore
proportional to the number of particles in the container.
PN
Since P 1/V, and P T, it then follows that:
P TN/V
or PV = kNT
where k is a gas constant called Boltzmanns constant, named after the Austrian physicist
Ludwig Boltzman (18441906). The units of k are derived from the other variables in the
equation.
From the above, k = PV/NT.
Therefore k has the units of Pa m3 molecule1 K1 (or J K1 molecule1).
The value of k is 1.38 1023 Pa m3 molecule1 K1.
A c t i v i t y 1 1 . 1 E Q U I VA L E N T U N I T S
Show that the unit Pa m3 molecule1 K1 is equivalent to J K1 molecule1.
Because the number of particles in a gas is extremely large we use a mole as the unit for
the amount or the number of particles. One mole is equal to 6.02 1023 particles. This num-
ber is called Avogadros number (NA), after the Italian scientist Amedo Avogadro
(17761856). The enormously large value of Avogadros number suggests how tiny and how
numerous atoms must be. A mole of air can fit into a suitcase. Yet, if these molecules were
spread uniformly over the Earth there would be 120 000 of them in every square centimetre.
A second example to indicate the size of a mole is that one mole of tennis balls would fill a
volume equal to three Moons.
In the previous equation if we change the number of particles to moles we also have to
change the proportionality constant, producing the ideal gas equation:
PV = nRT
where R is the universal gas constant, and n is the number of moles of gas.
The value of R is 8.31 Pa m3 mol1 K1 or 8.31 J K1 molecule1.
Heat and Matter 259

Activity 11.2 CONVERSION OF UNITS

To convert the number of particles (N) to moles (n) we divide by Avogadros number
(NA 6.02 1023). If we multiply k (1.38 1023 Pa m3 particle1 K1) by the number
of particles do we obtain 8.31?
Note 1: since the constant is in terms of standard units, all variables in the equations
PV = NkT or PV = nRT have to be in standard units. That is, pressure needs to be measured in
Pa, volume in m3, and temperature in K.
Note 2: gases exist as either atoms or molecules. For example, helium, argon, and neon
are single atoms whereas oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide exist as molecules containing
two or more atoms. We use the term particles to refer to both atoms and molecules.
Example 1
Find the number of particles in a 20 L sample of argon gas at a temperature of 273 K and at
atmospheric pressure.
Solution
P = 1 atm = 1.013 105 Pa.
T = 273 K.
V = 20 L = 20 103 m3.
PV = NkT
1.013 105 Pa 20 103 m3 = N 1.38 1023 273 K
N= 1.013 105 Pa 20 103 m3/1.38 1023 273 K
N= 5.4 1023 particles
Example 2
Air has an average molecular weight (molar mass) of 29 g per mole. (That is, 1 mole of gas
particles has a mass of 29 g.) What is the volume of 2.0 kg of air at atmospheric pressure
and 20C?
Solution
P = 1 atm = 1.013 105 Pa.
T = 20C = 293 K.
n = 2 kg/29 g mole1 = 68.97 mole.
R = 8.31 m3 Pa mol1 K1.
PV = nRT
V= nRT/P
= 68.97 8.31 293/1.013 10 5
= 1.66 m 3
Questions
12 What is the pressure of 0.030 moles of hydrogen gas at 37C if its volume is 80 mL?
13 A 0.50 L sample of oxygen gas has a pressure of 2.0 atm at a temperature of
80C. How many molecules of oxygen are in the sample?
14 What amount of carbon dioxide gas occupies 2.0 104 m3 at a pressure of
150 kPa and a temperature of 20C?
15 A 500 mL sample of helium gas contains 2.0 moles of gas at 300 K.
(a) Find the pressure exerted by the particles.
(b) If the temperature is doubled and half of the gas escapes, what will be the
new pressure?

T E M P E R AT U R E A N D K I N E T I C E N E R G Y 11.5
Let us now calculate the pressure of an ideal gas from kinetic theory. To simplify matters, we
will consider a gas in a cubic vessel whose walls are perfectly elastic. Let each edge be of
Figure 11.8 length d. Call the faces normal to the x axis (Figure 11.8) A1 and A2, each of area d2. Consider
Motion of a particle in a box. a particle that has a velocity v. We can resolve v into components vx, vy and vz, the directions
y of the edges. If this particle collides with A1 it will rebound, with its x component of velocity
z reversed. There will be no effect on vy or vz, so the change in the particles momentum p will
be normal to A1. Hence, the change in momentum of the particle will be:
p = p f p i = mv x (mv x) = 2mv x
A1
A2
Thus the momentum imparted to A1 will be 2mvx since the total momentum is conserved.
d
d Suppose that this particle reaches A2 without striking any other particle on the way.
x The time required to cross the cube will be d/vx. At A2 it will again have its x component of
d velocity reversed and will return to A1. Assuming no collisions in between, the round trip will
take a time of 2d/vx. Hence, the number of collisions per unit time this particle makes with
A1 is vx/2d, so the rate at which the particle transfers momentum to A1 is:
2mv x v x/2d = mv x2/d
To obtain the total force on A1, that is, the rate at which momentum is imparted to A1 by
all the gas molecules, we must sum up mvx2/d for all the particles. Recall from Chapter 4 that
Ft = p, or F = p/t.
Then, to find the pressure, we divide this force by the area of A1, namely d2. If m is the
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E mass of each molecule, we have:
French scientist Pierre Gassendi
(15921655) said that the P = F/A
pressure of a gas doesnt depend = mv x2/d/d 2 for one particle
on the weight of the gas in a
container.
Was he correct? Could you have The total pressure is:
two equal rigid containers with
the same mass of the same gas P = m/d 3 (v x12 + v x22 + v x32 + . . . v xn2)
in each but exhibiting different
pressures?
where vx1 is the x component of the velocity of particle 1, vx2 is that of particle 2, etc. If
N is the total number of particles in the container and n is the number per unit volume, then
N/d3 = n or d3 = N/n. Hence:
P = mn(v x12 + v x22 + v x32 + . . . v xn2)/N
But mn is simply the mass per unit volume, that is, the density of the gas were
considering. The quantity (vx12 + vx22 + vx32 + . . . vxn2)/N is the average value of vx2 for all
particles in the container. Let us call this vx2.
Then:
P = v x2
Heat and Matter 261

For any particle, v2 = vx2 + vy2 + vz2 (Pythagorass theorem). Because we have many particles
and because they are moving entirely at random, the average values of vx2, vy2, and vz2
are equal and the value of each is exactly one-third the average value of v 2. There is no It takes an alcohol molecule
preference among the molecules for motion along any one of the three axes. 6 months to travel from the
1 front of your laboratory to the
Hence, vx2 = 3 v2, so that:
back (if the windows are
closed). During this time it
P = v x2 = 31 v 2
1
would collide 6000 times per
= 2
3 mn v second and travel a total
1 2
= 3m v n
distance of 60 million
1 2 3 kilometres. Now thats a lot
= 3 m v N/d
of Fly Buys.
2 1 2
= 3 2 m v N/V
2
= 3 E k N/V
1
From Chapter 9, kinetic energy (Ek) = 2 m v2, so:
2
PV = 3 Ek N
This can be equated to the general equation PV = NkT.
2
Then kT = 3 Ek
3
or 2 kT = E k
Example
Find the average kinetic energy of the air particles, and the average speed of the nitrogen
molecules in the laboratory at room temperature of 22C.
Solution
3
Ek = 2 kT
= 3
2 1.38 10 23 (22 + 273) K
= 6.01 10 21 J
One mole of nitrogen molecules has a mass of 28 g, therefore the mass of a nitrogen
molecule is 28/6.02 1023 g, equals 4.65 1026 kg.
E k = 21 mv 2
6.10 10 21 J = 2 4.65 10 26 v 2
1
v 2 = 6.10 10 2/4.65 10
21 26
= 2.6 10 5
v = 5.10 10 2 m s 1
(Notice that the speed of gas particles in the room is surprisingly high, 500 m s1, and if the
gas under consideration was hydrogen the speed of the particles would be much greater.)
Questions
16 Find the average speed of the oxygen molecules in the above example. (The mass
of oxygen is 32 g per mole.)
17 At a certain temperature a sample of oxygen has a pressure of 2.0 106 Pa, and a
density of 4.0 103 g cm3. Find the average speed of the oxygen molecules of
the gas.

18 Samples of two ideal gases, argon and helium, are mixed and heated to 150C. Find:
(a) the ratio of the average kinetic energy of the argon atoms to the average
kinetic energy of the helium atoms;
(b) the ratio of the average velocity of the atoms of argon to the average
velocity of the atoms of helium. (The mass of argon is 40 g mol1, and the
mass of helium is 4 g mol1.)
19 A fluorescent light tube consists of a cylinder 1.2 m long with a diameter of
3 cm. It contains neon gas of density 1.12 103 g cm3. If it is heated to 80C
what pressure is the gas in the light? (Mass of neon = 20 g mole1.)
A F I N A L N OT E R E A L G A S E S 11.6
The above equations are developed for ideal gases, that is, gases that consist of single atoms
only. Therefore, all energy put into these gases by means of heat then goes into translational
motion (Latin trans = across, latio = bringing) motion in a straight line. That is, it makes
the particles move faster in a certain direction. There are several ideal gases: helium, neon,
argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. However, most gases have two or more atoms per
molecule. For example, nitrogen does not, in gaseous form, exist as an individual atom but as
a molecule that consists of two atoms bonded together. Other examples are oxygen (O2),
hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Energy put into these gases by means of heating
does not all go into translational motion. Some goes into rotational motion the atoms spin
around as they travel along; and some goes into potential energy stored in the bonds of the
atoms. Because of this, these gases deviate from the ideal gas equation.
Ideal gases are assumed to consist of particles that are insignificantly small and have no
attractive force on each other. Real gas particles do have size so it is surprising that at nor-
mal temperatures and pressures they, in fact, obey the ideal gas equation very well. However,
real gases deviate from the ideal gas equation as the temperature decreases and the pressure
increases. At normal temperatures and pressures the particles of oxygen occupy very little
volume compared with the total volume of the gas. The particles are moving so fast that they
exert little attractive force on each other. But at low temperatures when they are moving
slowly, or at high pressures when they are pushed close together, the attractive force is greater
and the volume of the particles is significant compared with the volume of the gas. Under
these conditions a real gas deviates from the behaviour indicated by the ideal gas equation.
T H E R M A L E X PA N S I O N 11.7
So far we have looked at the effects of heat on gases. These effects are easier to understand
because of the limited effect particles of the gas have on one another (except in collisions).
The addition of heat affects the particles of the gas by making them move faster and thus
expanding the gas or increasing its pressure on its container. Does the addition of heat have
the same effect on the particles of solids and liquids?
Can you think of everyday examples where the addition of heat affects a solid or liquid?
What causes the mercury in a thermometer to rise (Figure 11.9)?
Why do trains make the clickyclack sound when moving over railway lines?
Have you ever considered why people building ships or high-rise buildings in old
movies use white-hot rivets to hold steel plates together? Why not use cold ones?
They are easier to handle and do not lead to all those comical situations in cartoons.
Figure 11.9 0C 20C 50C 100C
Expansion of mercury in
a thermometer.
bulb of mercury
0C 40C 50C 100C
bulb of mercury
Heat and Matter 263

11.8 T H E R M A L E X PA N S I O N O F S O L I D S
With very few exceptions all solids expand when they are heated and contract when they are
cooled. But different substances expand at different rates. The rates at which solids expand
can be found experimentally. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
If we take a 1 m length of aluminium and heat it so as to change its temperature by 1C, When water freezes it expands
its length will expand by 23.8 106 m. This may not seem very much, and it is not, for and can crack pipes; therefore
everyday purposes, but when fine measurements are needed or the length is much longer or water can do work when it
the temperature change much greater, thermal expansion is very significant. freezes. Where does this energy
The change in length of a 1 m length of a substance due to a temperature change of 1C come from, especially as heat is
is called the coefficient of linear expansion (). For example, the coefficient of linear being removed? Sounds stupid!
expansion of Pyrex glass is 3.3 106 m C1. This means that a 1 m length of Pyrex glass
increases by 3.3 106 m if heated so as to change its temperature by 1C. The coefficients
of linear expansion of several common substances are given in Table 11.1.
This expansion is more significant if we have greater lengths of materials or the
temperature changes by more than 1C.
For example, if we have a 4 m length of aluminium and change its temperature by 1C,
its length will increase by:
4 23.8 10 6 1 m = 9.52 10 5 m
Ta b l e 1 1 . 1 C O E F F I C I E N T S O F L I N E A R E X PA N S I O N O F C O M M O N
S U B S TA N C E S
SUBSTANCE COEFFICIENT OF LINEAR EXPANSION 10 6 m C 1
Diamond 1.2
Glass (Pyrex) 3
Glass (crown) 9
Platinum 9
Steel 10 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Iron 12 When a rod made up of four
Brick and concrete 12 metals as shown in the diagram
Copper 17 is heated, which of the
Brass 19 following diagrams represents
Silver 18.8 its final shape.
Aluminium 23.8 What about if it is cooled?
Zinc 26.3
Rubber 80
Cu Pt
If we have a 1 m length of aluminium and increase its temperature by 100C, its length
will change by 23.8 106 m every change of 1C, giving a total increase in length of: Fe Brass
23.8 10 6 100 m = 23.8 10 4 m
Changing the temperature of a 4 m length of aluminium by 100C causes a change in

length of:
A B C D
23.8 10 6 4 m 100C = 9.52 10 3 m
= 9.52 mm

This may have important consequences in everyday activities.

The reverse is also true. Cooling a 4 m length of aluminium from 100C to 0C will cause
The General Electric building in it to contract by 9.52 mm.
New York has thousands of slabs This expansion may not seem very much but if the length is big enough and the temper-
of Italian Travertine marble
ature rise large enough the expansion will be noticeable. For example, in the early 1800s,
bolted on as a skin. Each slab is
6000 mm x 3000 mm. The
steam had just been introduced to power the factories. Steam pipes in the cotton mills were
temperatures in NY can vary often over 400 feet (130 m) long and with temperature rises from a cold 10C to 400C the
from 23C to +38C, over increase in length was such that a carpenters ruler could be used to measure it. Leading
which temperature range the industrialists of the time were enthusiastic in promoting the type of learning needed to deal
length of the slabs increase with the new technology of steam. They saw the academic approach of the universities of
by 3 mm. the time as being useless in factories. Hence, they supported the establishment of craft
What is the coefficient of linear
guilds and mechanics institutes to teach real-life knowledge. Universities have changed a
expansion of marble? How
would these slabs be attached
lot since then.
to the building so that they Expansion formula A formula to help find the change in length of a substance due to
didnt crack on expansion or thermal expansion of solids is:
contraction? If a slab was bolted
at each corner, how far away L = L i T
from the face of the building
would it bow out? Do any
where L is the change in length, Li is the original length of the solid, T is the change in
buildings in your city have
them? Email the authors and temperature.
it will be added to the It also should be noted that because a solid has three length measurements length,
next edition. width and height all three expand and contract, therefore the volume of a solid changes
with temperature change.
This property of solids to expand and contract with temperature change can be an
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E advantage as well as a disadvantage in everyday life.
In the old days before welding Can you think of some advantages and disadvantages?
was invented, ships were made Have you worked out why hot rivets are used yet? This is an advantage.
by riveting steel sheets Other examples where these properties have to be considered include:
together. Rivets are small
lengths of steel with a flat head
The fitting of gear wheels to axles. If the axle is cooled in liquid nitrogen it
on one end. They were heated
contracts and the gear wheel will slip on more easily. When the axle warms up to
to a high temperature and normal temperature it makes a very tight fit.
inserted through a hole drilled Telephone and electrical cables are hung loosely between poles to allow for
in the sheets. The rivets were contraction in cold weather conditions.
then struck with a hammer to
Bimetallic strips that consist of two dissimilar metals of equal length are used in fire
bend the other end over.
alarms. (See Figure 11.10.)
Why were they heated?
Wouldnt they shrink away from Bridges and rail lines have expansion gaps to allow for expansion in hot conditions to
the insides of the hole? stop buckling.
Next time you pass a large building or concrete paths check for rubber expansion
gaps that allow for the expansion of the concrete, to stop cracking.
Figure 11.10 bimetallic strip power

Bimetallic strip used in a
brass
supply
fire alarm.
electric
bell steel contacts
cold steel
brass
brass bimetallic
strip
hot
steel
Heat and Matter 265

The coefficients of expansion of the iron used for reinforcing concrete and of the
concrete itself have to be similar. If they expand at different rates the concrete
will crack, and with continual expansion and contraction it may break away from
the iron.
Fillings in teeth and the teeth themselves need to have similar coefficients of
expansion. Why? Modern train lines are welded
Crown glass shatters when you pour boiling water into it but Pyrex does not. together, so they have no

expansion gap. How is
In aircraft manufacture, rivets are often cooled in dry ice before insertion and then
expansion allowed for so that
allowed to expand to a tight fit.
the lines dont buckle? In the
Pipes in refineries often include an expansion loop so that the pipe will not buckle as past, fairly light wooden
the temperature rises. sleepers were used but today
heavy steel or concrete sleepers
(300 kg) are used and this
A c t i v i t y 1 1 . 3 T H E R M A L E X PA N S I O N physically prevents expansion.
The force of expansion builds up
Houses with steel roofs on a timber frame will creak when a cloud passes overhead but it is insufficient to lift
on a hot summers day. Whats going on here? In your response, you should provide the weight of the tracks and
quantitative data to support your claim. sleepers so they just get
compressed. If you dont think
Example this can be true, ring
An electric company strung an aluminium wire between two piers 200.0 m apart on a day Queensland Rail and talk to a
track engineer.
when the temperature was 25C. They strung it tight so that it would not sag. Find the length
of the wire when the temperature fell to 25C on a cold winters night? What might happen?
What should have been done to prevent this occurring? This does happen in countries that
have wide variations in temperature.
Solution
A steel ruler has a hole in one
end. When the ruler is heated,
L = L i T does the hole get bigger, smaller
= 200.0 m 23.8 10 6 50C or stay the same? Be careful
= 2.38 10 1 m even some science texts get it
= 23.8 cm wrong.
L = 200.0 0.238
= 199.862 m
Questions
20 A 3.0 m steel girder is used in the construction of a bridge. If the least and
greatest recorded temperatures in the region where the bridge is to be built are
10C and 45C, what allowance would need to be made for expansion and
contraction, if it was fixed in place when the temperature was 20C?
21 A very modern car engine is to be made of ceramic material with a coefficient
of expansion of 1.8 106 m C1.
(a) What would be the increase in the diameter of the 5.0 cm piston if the
temperature of the engine changed from 10C to 180C?
(b) How does this compare with an engine made of iron?
(c) How do normal car engines allow for this expansion?
22 An expansion gap between 5.0 m iron railway lines was set at 2.0 mm on a day
when the temperature was 10C. To what temperature would the lines have to
increase before they begin to buckle?
23 A 100 m long iron water pipe was laid in the ground on a hot summers day
when the temperature was 25C. By what length would it have contracted if
the ground temperature fell to 15C?

T H E R M A L E X PA N S I O N O F L I Q U I D S 11.9
A very common device making use of the expansion of liquids is a thermometer. As the
temperature increases, the mercury or alcohol in the thermometer increases in volume and
moves up the fine tube. Other examples include the explosion of bottles filled with liquid
and left in the hot sun.
As liquids take the shape of the container we are mainly interested in the volume changes
of liquids with temperature. Again these changes can be found experimentally. The coeffi-
cients of volume expansion, , of some common liquids are given in Table 11.2.
Ta b l e 1 1 . 2 C O E F F I C I E N T S O F V O L U M E E X PA N S I O N O F L I Q U I D S
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E LIQUID COEFFICIENT OF VOLUME EXPANSION 10 4 m C 1
The coefficient of volume Mercury 1.82
expansion () for iron is Water 2.07
0.36 104. Petrol 9.55
How many times greater is this Turpentine 9.73
than the coefficient of Alcohol 11.2
linear expansion ()?
Acetone 14.87
Propose a proof for this.
Ether 16.56
As with solids, the change in volume of liquids can be found by the formula:
V = V i T
In days gone by, warships had
cannons mounted on the decks
with the iron cannonballs where V is the change in the volume of the liquid, is the coefficient of volume expansion,
resting in shallow brass Vi is the initial volume of the liquid, T is the change in temperature.
ashtray-shaped containers called
Example
brass monkeys. These would
What would be the increase in the volume of 0.20 L of acetone if it was heated from 10C
invariably fill with water as the
sea washed over the decks. In
to 40C?
the Atlantic ocean sometimes Solution
it would get so cold that
sailors would say: Its cold
enough to freeze the balls V = V i T
off a brass monkey. = 14.87 10 4 0.20 (40 10)
What do you suspect they = 89.2 10 4 L
meant? = 8.9 10 3 L
cannon ball
Questions
24 By what volume would 25 L of alcohol increase if its temperature was increased
from 10C to 50C?
25 How much extra petrol would you get if you bought 50 L at 5.0C instead of at 40C?
26 A student measured 500 mL of water into a measuring cylinder at a temperature
brass monkey
of 25C and placed it in the refrigerator where the temperature was 4.0C. What
will be the measurement on the measuring cylinder? (Assume the cylinder does
not contract.)
Heat and Matter 267

11.10 T H E A B N O R M A L E X PA N S I O N O F WAT E R
Most liquids contract with a decrease in temperature. Water is different. Water in fact expands
as it cools below a certain temperature. Why do soft drink bottling companies leave air at the
top of bottles of soft drink? But expansion also is seen if a bottle of soft drink is left in a
freezer. Consider the graph (Figure 11.11) showing the change in volume of water with Figure 11.11
The change in the volume of water with
temperature changes. temperature.
As water is cooled it contracts as expected with all liquids; however, at approximately 4C
volume (cm3)
it stops contracting. Between 4C and 0C it actually expands as temperature decreases. This
is due to the rearrangement of the particles that make up water. This rearrangement takes up ice
more volume. A certain amount of water therefore has a minimum volume and a maximum
density at 4C. When water freezes at 0C it undergoes considerable expansion. The volume ice and water
of 100 mL of water changes to 109 mL of ice. This is very important in cold countries. Unless water
water pipes are very well insulated the water in them will freeze and this may cause the pipes
to burst.
-12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
This abnormal (or anomalous) expansion of water can cause many problems: temperature (C)
In cold climates the water in the engine block and radiator of a car can freeze and
the expansion can shatter the engine. Antifreeze is usually added to the water to
lower its freezing point and to prevent freezing from occuring. It also raises the
boiling point. Can you see the use of this?
When water freezes in pipes in your house it can cause them to crack. Some people
leave taps dripping to prevent this happening. Do you think that this would work?
Practice questions
*27 A cylinder contains 0.50 m3 of helium gas at 2.0 atm. What volume of gas is able
to escape if it is released into the atmosphere?
**28 An oxygen cylinder releases gas at the rate of 4 m3 h1 at atmospheric pressure.
If it is sold at a pressure of 200 atm and has a volume of 2 m3, for what time
will it supply oxygen?
*29 A container of gas has a pressure of 80 cm of Hg when its volume is 800 cm3
and its temperature is 60C. What will be its pressure when its temperature is
increased to 90C, and its volume is reduced to 400 cm3?
**30 Two cylinders of volumes 2.0 m3 and 3.0 m3 are at pressures 4.0 atm and 6.0 atm
respectively. If they are then joined by a thin, short tube, what will be the new
pressure in each?
*31 What is the effect on the volume of a gas (a) whose pressure is tripled at the
same time as its temperature is halved; (b) whose pressure is kept constant
while twice the number of molecules are added at the same temperature?
*32 What volume will two moles of gas occupy at a pressure of 8.2 104 N m2 and
a temperature of 290 K?
*33 A container has a volume of 20.0 L at a temperature of 360 K. Gas is forced into
the container until the pressure is 2.0 105 N m2. How many molecules of gas
are there in the container now?

*34 A flask is open to the atmosphere at room temperature of 26C. To what

temperature must the flask be heated before only two-thirds of the original
number of molecules remain in the flask?
*35 A cylinder has a volume of 1.5 m3 and contains neon gas at a pressure of
1.0 101 cm height of mercury at the temperature of 20C. What is the number
of particles in the cylinder?
**36 A flask contains gas at a temperature of 30C and a pressure of 2.0 103 Pa.
Find the number of molecules per cubic metre in the flask.
**37 If we have a cylinder of volume 4.4 m3 containing 5.0 1022 molecules at a
pressure of 3 atm, what will be the average kinetic energy of the centre of mass
motion of the molecules?
*38 Find the average kinetic energy of translation of a molecule at 24C.
*39 How much energy is needed to raise the temperature of 1 mol of a monatomic
gas by 10C?
*40 A steel water pipe line of 2000 m is fixed in place on a day when the temperature
was 30C. What will be its new length when the temperature drops to 20C?
*41 The space between 10 m steel railway lines is 8.0 mm at 5.0C. What would be
the space at 30C?
**42 Mercury has a density of 13.6 g cm3 at 20C. What would be the density of
mercury at 100C?
**43 The data given in Table 11.3 were collected by heating a 50 cm copper rod in a
water bath. From the data calculate the coefficient of linear expansion for copper.
Ta b l e 1 1 . 3
TEMPERATURE LENGTH (CM)
20 50.000
40 50.017
60 50.033
80 50.052
100 50.070
*44 Explain why iron and not steel is used to reinforce concrete.

***45 Twenty-five percent of the energy put into a certain non-monatomic gas causes
increased rotation and vibration of the atoms within the molecule. How much
energy is required to raise the temperature of 2 mol of this gas from 10C to
35C?
***46 If 2 mol of helium at 50C is mixed with 4 mol of argon at 20C, find the final
temperature of the mixture.
***47 Gas X is monatomic, and gas Y has one-quarter of its total energy involved as
energy within the molecules.
(a) If 2 mol of X at 70C is mixed with 1 mol of Y at 25C, find the final
(b) If 2 mol of Y at 80C is mixed with 2 mol of X at 35C, find the final
***48 A bubble expands to three times its original volume while rising from the bottom
to the surface of a lake.
(a) Assuming that the lake throughout is at the same temperature as the
surrounding atmosphere, how deep is the lake?
(b) If there had been a temperature increase from 7.0C at the bottom to 27C
at the surface, by what factor would the bubble have expanded?
Heat and Matter 269

***49 Two glass flasks, one of which has twice the volume of the other, are connected
by a thin tube of negligible volume. They contain dry air at a temperature of
20C and a pressure of 76 cm of mercury. The larger flask is then immersed in
steam at 100C and the smaller in melting ice at 0C. Neglecting any change in
volume of the flasks, find the resulting pressure in them.
***50 A 500 mL flask as shown in Figure 11.12 was filled almost to the top with Figure 11.12
acetone at 20C. It was inadvertently left on the bench in the sunlight on a hot For question 50.
day when the temperature reached 32C. Assuming no acetone changed to

air 10 cm3
vapour, calculate the pressure of the air in the neck of the flask. (Neglect the
expansion of the flask itself as this is small compared with the expansion of
acetone.)
***51 A new type of temperature scale has been created by Martians. Measurements of
a gas held at constant pressure give the following data. The temperature is in
degrees Martian (M) which has the same size degree as in the Celsius and Kelvin
scales: acetone
Temperature (M) 90 120 150

Volume (L) 30 45 60
Create an equation that converts a temperature on the Martian scale into a 500 mL
temperature on the Celsius scale. It should look something like the flask
Celsius/Kelvin conversion equation (K = C + 273).
M = ?

CHAPTER 12
H e a t Tr a n s f e r
INTRODUCTION 12.1
The transfer of heat energy from one place to another may seem unimportant to many. How
does this affect me? What use is this to me? However, like many applications of physics, heat
energy transfer unknowingly affects our everyday life more than a casual glimpse would
suggest.
On cold winter nights what keeps you warm? Why does that quilt, particularly a down
quilt, keep you warm?
Why do saucepans have plastic, wooden etc. handles? Would it not be better if they
were all steel or aluminium? They would be easier to manufacture and clean.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E How do you feel the warmth of the electric heater from across the room? Could
Cooks sometimes put a metal
electric heaters be used in outer space to keep astronauts warm?
skewer through potatoes to If you were interrupted while making a cup of coffee, would it be better to leave it
make them cook more quickly. before putting in the cold milk, or put the milk in before you do that little job? In
Would you speed things up by which case would the coffee be hotter when you return?
using a skewer of twice the How does the Suns heat energy reach the Earth?
diameter, or two of the smaller Why are there heat shields on the Space Shuttle?
skewers? If you used two, where
Double glazing of windows is very beneficial in the conservation of energy for
is the optimal place to put
households or for large buildings. Why? (If you dont know what double glazing is,
them? Why?
check the encyclopaedia or look in any building magazine.)
All the above examples have something in common. They all can be explained by the
understanding of heat energy transfer. There are several ways in which heat energy can be
transferred. Lets look at them in turn.
skewer faster still?

A c t i v i t y 1 2 . 1 H E AT L O S S E S
You can probably think of many more situations where the loss, gain, or transfer
of heat energy from one place to another plays a role in our everyday life.
For example:
1 Why doesnt the Earth get hotter and hotter as sunlight falls on it? How does the
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E term albedo apply to this situation?
When you get out of bed in the 2 Computer CPUs have big metal heat sinks with large-surface-area fins attached.
morning, carpet feels warmer What is the purpose of this?
under your feet than tiles. Why
is this if they are both at the 3 The bony plates on the back of a stegosaurus have been claimed to be part of its
same temperature? cooling system. How might they work? Research this and discuss arguments for
and against this proposal using discussion genre.
H e a t Tr a n s f e r 271
a
272
12.2
Silver
Copper
Aluminium
Brass
Iron
Steel
Concrete
Glass
Brick
Water
Asbestos, paper
Rubber
Plasterboard
Wood
Cork
Carpet
Bone
Fibreglass wool
Plastic foam
Air
Fat
New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

CONDUCTION
Conduction (from the Latin conducere meaning to lead together) is the process by which
heat energy is transferred through a medium by the vibrating particles of the medium, but
without the particles actually moving. For example, when a metal teaspoon is placed in hot
water the handle becomes hot. Heat energy travels from the hot water through the spoon to
your hand. The reason this occurs has already been suggested in Chapter 10. (This may be the
time to revise this section.) The molecules of the hot water are moving faster than those of
the spoon they have more energy because they are hotter. When they collide with the
particles of the spoon they transfer some of their energy to those particles of the spoon. These
molecules then collide with others adjacent to them. This continues until all the molecules of
the spoon and water are in equilibrium. Heat energy is thus transferred from the hot water to
the spoon and eventually to your hand. Of course, you might say that the spoons handle does
not get as hot as the water. This is true. But where else is the spoons handle transferring
some of its energy? The air around it has molecules! Notice that the energy is transferred from
the hot water to the spoon and your hand but the particles themselves do not move. They
may vibrate but they do not move with the transfer of heat energy.
So to transfer heat energy by conduction the medium must contain particles and the
closer together the particles the better. Therefore solids, liquids and gases can conduct heat
energy, but a vacuum cannot.
(From now on we will refer to heat energy transfer as heat flow, which is a simpler way
of expressing the idea of a transfer of heat energy from one medium to another.)
This would also suggest that solids are better conductors than liquids, which are in turn
better than gases. This, in general, is true, as the particles in most solids make closer contact
with each other than those of liquids or gases. Table 12.1 indicates the rate of heat flow
through particular materials. It will be noticed that this table reinforces the above statement.
a
This will be discussed more fully later. The table might also suggest why copper-based
saucepans are better than iron-based saucepans.
Ta b l e 1 2 . 1 T H E R M A L C O N D U C T I V I T Y O F S O M E M AT E R I A L S
MATERIAL THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, k (W m 1 K 1 )
430
400
240
105
67
46
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.2
0.2
0.13
0.08
0.05
0.05
0.042
0.04
0.03
0.024
0.021
black white
a
A copper rod is placed through
a hole in a piece of pine and
heated. Charring occurs more
along the grain that across it.
Now why is this? Propose a
physics explanation.
copper rod
in block of
pine
bunsen
Four thermometers as shown are
placed in the Sun for 10 minutes.
List them in order from highest
reading to lowest. Explain.
loose
cotton
wool
How can you cook a hamburger
thoroughly in the shortest time?
Would you cook it on an open
grill (large heat, but some
charring) or in a pan (small
heat). Explain using physics
principles. Suggest to your
physics teacher that you have
an end-of-term BBQ and that the
school pay for the hamburger
patties. Good luck!
You have three ice-cubes of the
same mass. Which one will melt
first? Why?
spherical hollow cube
solid cube
tight
cotton
wool
Figure 12.1
The water boils but the ice remains
Activity 12.2 CONDUCTIVITY OF LIQUIDS
because water does not conduct heat
very well. Put some ice in a test-tube and hold it in place with some steel wool (Figure 12.1).
Half-fill the test-tube with water. Hold the upper part of the tube over a candle or a
Bunsen burner until the water boils. What do you notice about the ice? What does
water
this suggest about the conductivity of liquids?
steel boiling
wool water
Bonding
The bonding of the atoms in materials controls how easily the atoms vibrate and therefore
conduct. The bonds between the atoms in metals allow the atoms to vibrate freely in all direc-
tions, whereas the bonds in non-metals hold the particles more firmly, and are more rigid,
ice
thus not allowing the particles to vibrate as freely. So metals are good conductors whereas
non-metals are poor conductors, or insulators. This again is shown in Table 12.1.
Both good conductors and poor conductors (insulators) have their uses. Good conductors
are used for such things as the bases of saucepans, car radiators, cooling fins on air-cooled
Figure 12.2 engines such as those used in VWs, and as heat sinks on semiconductor electronic devices.
Copper-based saucepans conduct heat
Poor conductors are used to insulate roofs, insulate water pipes in cold countries, and for
well whereas poor conductors are good
for handles. jumpers, wet suits, and the handles on pots and pans.
Staying cool or hot

plastic A special mention has to be made of those materials (many synthetic) that are poor conduc-
handle
tors because they trap air within their fibres. Since air is a poor conductor (Table 12.1),
copper stainless materials that trap air do not transfer heat energy very well. Materials such as wool, fur, poly-
base steel
sides styrene, carpet, fibreglass fibres, etc. all have these qualities. Fibreglass or wool insulation is
used in the ceilings of houses as it does not allow the heat energy to be transferred readily
from the atmosphere to the interior on hot days or the reverse on cold days, thus improving
the living conditions within the house and reducing the cost of heating or cooling. Carpeted
floors always feel warmer then wooden or concrete floors on cold mornings. Carpet reduces
the rate at which heat is lost from your feet to the floor, therefore your feet will retain their
heat longer and feel warmer, except for the loss of heat to the atmosphere to stop this you
had better wear slippers (woollen ones).
Figure 12.3 foot foot

Carpet feels warmer than concrete
because concrete conducts the heat
from your feet more rapidly. carpet
tiles
little heat lost through

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E heat lost by conduction
Which will cool the water more conduction
quickly leaving the ice to
float or keeping it submerged?
Provide the physics principles Rate of heat flow
behind this.
Table 12.1 indicates that heat energy is transferred through materials at different rates. Heat
ice reaches your hand quickly when the ends of some metals are placed in a Bunsen flame, while
other materials such as wood do not transfer the heat energy nearly as fast or as readily. The
water rate of heat flow depends on several properties of the material. The rate of heat flow (R) is
water

defined as the heat energy transferred per second, and is measured in joules per second or
ice watts.
What do you think controls the heat flow from the stove through the bottom of a
copper-based saucepan to the water in the saucepan?
Commonsense would suggest several factors control the heat flow. These have been
verified through experimentation:
Experiments have shown that if the material were thicker, heat would take longer to
pass through. That is, if our saucepans base was thick it would take longer for heat
to penetrate. The rate of heat flow (R) is inversely proportional to the thickness (d).
1
R
d
The rate of heat flow has also been shown to be dependent on the temperature
difference across the material. That is, if the temperature difference on either side
of the saucepans base is greater, heat will flow more quickly.
R (T 2 T 1)
The area of the material influences the flow rate. The greater the area the quicker the
energy transfer.
RA
The rate of heat flow also depends on the type of material. As already suggested, heat
flows readily through some materials and not so readily through others. The thermal
conductivity of a material (k) is a measure of the rate of flow of heat energy through
1 m2 of a material of thickness of 1 m and having a temperature difference of 1 K
between the sides. For example, copper has a thermal conductivity of 400 W m1 K1,
which means 400 joules per second flow through a 1 m square, 1 m thick piece of
copper when there is a temperature difference of 1 K between the sides.
1m Figure 12.4
d
Heat flow through a piece of
T1 copper 1 m2 1 m.
A
Does dark water (e.g. tea) cool
1 m2 more quickly or more slowly
T2 than white water (e.g. milk in
Q
water)? Explain this before you
try it. While youre thinking
Putting all the above variables together the rate of heat flow becomes: about it, heres another: does
brown bread toast more quickly
(T 2 T 1) A than white bread?
R
d
then
R = k(T 2 T 1) A
d Have you ever been over the
Gateway Bridge in Brisbane and
The units for thermal conductivity, k, result from the above equation: noticed the huge storage tanks
for BP oil?
Rd The ones filled with unrefined
k= oils or lubricants are painted
(T 2 T 1)A
black, whereas the tanks filled
with petrol are painted silver.
The units thus become W m/K m2, or W m1 K1.
Propose a reason for this and if
Table 12.1 gives the thermal conductivity of several common substances. This table is you are able to, find out why
worth more than a passing glance. It indicates why plastic, wood etc. are used for handles of they really do it. We had to ring
saucepans; why fibreglass, wool and plastic foam are used for insulating in houses; why cork BP in Melbourne.
is used for place mats for hot materials; and why animals that live in very cold climates have
a great deal of fat on their bodies.

Example
Calculate the initial rate at which heat flows through a copper-based saucepan that has a
15 cm diameter, 1 cm thick, base. The temperature of the water in the saucepan is initially
18C while the stove hotplate is 120C.
Compare this with a saucepan made of steel.
Photo 12.1 Solution
The Texas TI-83 graphing calculator and
the CBL (Computer Based Laboratory)
are another useful way of accumulating R = k(T 2 T 1) A
temperature/time data. d
2
= 400(120 18)0.075
0.01
= 7.2 10 4 W
For the steel saucepan:
R = k(T 2 T 1) A
d
2
= 46(120 18)0.075
0.01
= 8.3 10 3 W
The flow of heat energy through copper is approximately 10 times that of steel. This
should have been seen from Table 12.1, since all other variables were the same.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Questions
80 mL of cold water is placed in
1 When one end of a piece of glass rod is placed in the flame of a Bunsen burner
a polystyrene cup and the cup is
placed in a beaker of hot water.
the other end becomes hot.
Thermometers are placed in both (a) Explain how the heat energy travels from one end to the other.
containers. Predict the shape of (b) What other laboratory materials would transfer heat faster?
the temperatures versus time 2 Many birds on cold winter mornings are seen to fluff their feathers. What is the
graph. The experiment is purpose of this?
repeated but a small cube of ice 3 (a) Calculate the rate at which heat energy is lost through a 1.0 m2 laboratory
is placed in the cold water. Now window on a day when it is 15C on the outside and 25C inside. The glass
show how the graph shapes will is approximately 5.0 mm thick. (b) How much heat energy is lost in 1 hour?
change (in red ink). If you had 4 Calculate the heat lost from a seal in 30 minutes. Assume the seals total surface
a TI-83 graphing calculator
area is 1.1 m2 and the thickness of the fat is 2.0 cm . The atmosphere tempera-
with temperature probes
ture is 25C and the seals body temperature is 37C.
(see photo 12.1), you could
follow the progress.
Fire-walking
Though fire-walking has long been associated with Far East mysticism it has recently been
adopted by the New Age movement in California. It has also recently come under the scrutiny
Figure 12.5 of physicists in search of an explanation for how people can walk on 600C red-hot coals in
Coals provide a poor conductor and bare feet and not get burnt.
there is little surface area in contact
with the feet.
To obtain the coals a pile of wood is set on fire and allowed to burn to red-hot over a
period of an hour or two. The bed, about 4 m long and 1 m wide, is raked evenly and when
foot
paper is thrown on it will burst into flames. People can then walk over it, taking about
heat
transfer
remaining 7 seconds, without getting burnt. How do physicists explain this?
heat Two effects are in operation:
cannot
transfer poor thermal conductivity of coals.
the Leidenfrost effect.
Coal is a poor conductor of heat, unlike, say, a steel barbecue plate. The heat leaves the Figure 12.6
edge of the coal but does not transfer to the feet very quickly. Water bubbles floating on steam on
a barbecue plate.
The other effect is called the Leidenfrost effect. If you have ever poured water on a very
water drop
hot barbeque plate, you would have noticed that the water forms little drops and they dance
around on a layer of steam on the plate (Figure 12.6).
In a similar way this layer of steam keeps the skin away from the coals and protects the layer of
steam
foot even more. The Australian Skeptics often arrange demonstrations of fire-walking to
debunk the mysticism of the process. There is no magic in it just pure physics. But do not
BBQ plate
try it! People have been burnt.
12.3 CONVECTION
The second method of heat transfer is by the convection process. (The word convection
comes from the Latin convehere meaning to carry together.) Convection is similar to
conduction but in this case the particles of the materials themselves actually move. While
conduction is the transfer of heat by the vibration of particles of the material, convection is
Figure 12.7
the transfer of heat by the movement of particles. As solid particles do not move, convection Convection. (a) Convection currents in a
is confined to liquids and gases. saucepan of water; (b) a pot-belly stove
Convection is used to explain how pot-belly stoves heat rooms, why fireplaces draw warms a room by setting up convection
currents; (c) convection currents arise
properly, how water is heated in saucepans, and how onshore and offshore sea breezes because the difference in temperature
develop. creates onshore breezes.
(a) (b) (c)
saucepan warm land
warm warm on shore

air rising air rising breezes
water
convection
currents
pot- belly stove cool air cool sea

stove
elements
For example, when a pot-belly stove is placed in the centre of the living room it heats
the air in its immediate vicinity. This air expands, becoming less dense and thus rising. Cooler
surrounding air moves in to replace the hotter air that rises. The hot rising air cools as it goes
Figure 12.8
higher and therefore recirculates, as shown in Figure 12.7(b). Convection currents are thus Heating potassium permanganate crystals
set up. A similar process happens when water is heated in a saucepan on the stove. produces observable convection currents.
Convection can be demonstrated very effectively in the laboratory. If one or two crystals
purple convection
of potassium permanganate are placed in a beaker of water as shown in Figure 12.8 and currents
heated, the crystals dissolve as the surrounding water becomes hot. Purple convection
potassium
currents of potassium permanganate solution are formed. permanganate
crystals
A c t i v i t y 1 2 . 3 BOILING WATER IN A PAPER BAG

Make a small paper container out of paper (Figure 12.9). Put some water in it and hold it
over a candle. You can boil the water without burning the paper. Describe these effects in
terms of conduction and convection.

Figure 12.9
Water will boil in a paper tray
Activity 12.4 RESEARCH
when heated.
Research one of the following and be prepared to explain your research to the class:
Count Rumford spent his summer holidays in 1794 by the Italian beach. Instead
water of swimming he investigated convection currents. What did he find out?
How are convection currents associated with afternoon onshore breezes and
morning offshore breezes?
paper How do gliders and hang-gliders use convection currents (thermals)?
tray
How is convection used in solar hot water systems?
What is the difference between convection ovens and fan-forced ovens?
In cold countries many homes are heated by convection (Figure 12.10). Proper design of
convection systems allows the hot air to circulate and the cool air to return to the furnace to
be reheated. The rush of air this creates near the vents can be very noticeable.
Figure 12.10
Convection currents are used to
circulate heat throughout houses.
Photo 12.2
Hang-glider and thermals.
hot air cold air
register register
furnace
Some currents formed in the oceans, for example the gulf stream and the Japan current,
are large-scale examples of convection.
Figure 12.11
Loose black clothes set up convection
currents to control the temperature.
Staying cool in the desert
In even the hottest regions of north Africa, nomadic travellers wear black loose-fitting
warm air
out clothing to keep cool. We wear white to keep cool; so what is going on? The answer is that
the black cloth heats up the air between the cloth and the skin creating an updraft, which
black draws cool air in as the warm air exits through the neck opening. This keeps the people from
cloth overheating.
Questions
5 What is the advantage of placing the heating element at the bottom of an
electric kettle?
cool air 6 Why can heat energy from the Sun not be transferred to the Earth by conduction
in or convection?
12.4 R A D I AT I O N
In conduction and convection the vibration or the movement of particles results in heat
energy transfer, but how does heat energy move between places where no particles exist? How
does heat energy travel between the Sun and the Earth through the vacuum of space?
The heat is transferred by a process called radiation. The word radiation is from the Latin
radiate meaning to emit beams. This process involves the movement of heat energy by
waves electromagnetic waves. The properties of waves will be discussed in Chapters 13,
14 and 15.
A c t i v i t y 1 2 . 5 H OT B U L B S
Put your hand on the glass of a light bulb that is turned off (and is cool). Turn the light
on and immediately you will feel the heat from the electromagnetic radiation. Turn if off. I N V E S T I G AT I N G
Is the glass hot? Explain. For thirty years the science
literature has reported that
All bodies radiate energy in the form of electromagnetic waves whose wavelength is in warm water freezes more quickly
than cold water. This sounds
the infrared region. The wavelengths of these waves are longer than those of visible light and
like nonsense, but under certain
therefore cannot be seen. However, they can be detected. Most people have seen films in
conditions it will happen. It
which various pieces of apparatus are used to detect the differences in infrared radiation all has to do with the different
given off by humans compared with those of the surroundings. convection currents. Your design
Hot bodies give off more of this radiation than cooler ones. The wavelength of the should include: different
infrared radiation emitted depends on the temperature of the radiating body. For example, a conditions (lid on/off); different
table in a darkened room can be photographed with infrared sensitive film while it cannot be container (polystyrene/glass;
seen by the naked eye. This property of bodies to emit infrared radiation has many applica- tall/short); and a search for
tions in industry and medicine, as well as for the military: trends (try 40C, 60C, 80C).
Tumours below the skins surface have a higher metabolic rate than the surrounding It is a perfect experiment for
tissue. They therefore produce more heat. Infrared thermography is used to map using a TI-83 and CBL
data-logger (or similar).
the infrared radiation given off by the tumour and surrounding tissue. Electronic
processing can produce coloured pictures of a persons body.
Photo 12.3
A thermogram. An infrared photograph
shows the different amounts of heat
emitted from different parts of the
human body.

Some animals such as rattlesnakes and some birds use special heat receptor cells to
detect and track their victims. The sidewinder missile used by air force fighters to
The temperature around a home in on the heat emissions from the exhaust of enemy aircraft obtains its name
Bunsen burner is lower the from the rattlesnake (or sidewinder).
further you are from it. But does
The military has developed many applications of the detection of infrared radiation.
the temperature fall away evenly
In the Second World War infrared sensitive film was used to detect the damage done
in all directions? Draw a Bunsen
to enemy factories even when there was cloud cover. With the Vietnam conflict,
flame as in the diagram below
and predict where points of
sophisticated scopes for rifles were developed. These could pick up and amplify the
similar temperature will be, body heat of the enemy, let alone the heat from a match or the glow of a cigarette in
keeping in mind that both the mouth not a good idea!
convection and radiation are Satellites using infrared photography are now in regular use. They have been used
operating. Join these points to detect troop movements and missiles being launched, as well as to detect hot
of equal temperature they underground rock formations. One coal-mining community in Pennsylvania in the USA
are called isotherms (Greek disappeared when oxidation of coal seams caused huge underground caverns to cave
iso = equal; thermos = heat). in. Another community was saved when satellite controllers using infrared
Try it! photography were able to give sufficient warning.
The Sun, a very hot body, radiates infrared heat energy, which reaches the Earth.
Approximately 1400 joules of heat energy is arriving per second at every square metre of the
upper atmosphere of the Earth. When this radiation strikes an object it causes the molecules
of the object to gain energy and vibrate faster, resulting in the object becoming hotter. Some
objects absorb this radiation better than others. Dark objects absorb radiation better than
white objects, while white shiny surfaces also reflect heat.
Why is it that sports-people who play sport in the Sun (cricket, tennis etc.) wear
white clothing?
What colour is the traditional clothing of desert peoples of north Africa?
Activity 12.6 HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES

It would be a worthwhile exercise to check the appliances around the house to identify
those that rely on the reflection of radiation to improve their performance. Make a
list of these and select one to explain its operation.
F U RT H E R A P P L I C AT I O N S 12.5
An understanding of conduction, convection and radiation is useful in the designing of better
appliances and improving living conditions.
A thermos flask or vacuum flask is a good example of how an understanding of heat
Figure 12.12 energy transfer has produced a more efficient product.
A simple thermos flask. Double glass walls containing a vacuum reduce the loss of heat by convection
and conduction. The walls are also silvered to reflect heat back into the flask and
cork reduce the loss of heat by radiation. However, the fluid in a vacuum flask does
change its temperature with time. Can you suggest where most heat loss occurs?
glass
Greenhouses have always been efficient at maintaining a warm environment for
better plant growth. Shorter high energy infrared waves from the Sun pass through
vacuum the glass walls and heat the plants and the soil. These in turn emit longer, lower
energy infrared waves that cannot penetrate glass. Thus the inside of the glass house
mirrored remains hot. Carbon dioxide and other gases in the environment act in the same way
surface
as the glass in a glasshouse. These gases in the atmosphere let in ultraviolet waves,
which are converted to infrared and cannot get out, thus heating the Earth. This
produces the greenhouse effect. However, a certain level of this is needed. It has
seal
been suggested that the Earths atmosphere would be, on average, 133C cooler but
for the greenhouse effect.
A c t i v i t y 1 2 . 7 I N S U L AT I O N N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Silver batts are advertised as being an excellent method of insulating houses. The roofs of two houses are
Investigate the characteristics of these batts that might help you to determine the truth covered in snow. In which house
in these advertisements. is the ceiling insulation better:
the one in which the snow melts
quickly or slowly?
A c t i v i t y 1 2 . 8 B U N S E N I S OT H E R M
The temperature around a lit Bunsen burner gets lower the further you are from
the flame. But it is not a regular decrease because of convection currents taking N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
hot air upwards.
Cut a grape almost half-way
1 Predict the shape of lines joining points of equal temperature about a through and pull each half apart
Bunsen flame (as viewed from the side). These lines are called isotherms slightly so that there is a thin
(Greek iso = equal). bridge of skin between the two
halves. Put it in a microwave
2 Use a thermometer to measure temperatures around the flame at say 10 cm and give it 10 seconds on high.
intervals away from the flame. Do this for points directly above the flame Now explain that!
(12 oclock), 1 oclock, 2, 3, 4 and 5 oclock. Do you need to do both sides of
the flame? Now draw an isotherm diagram. Explain why the shape is not
symmetrical.
Practice questions
*7 Which allows heat to flow better: cork or iron? Why do you think this is so?
*8 Explain why convection occurs in fluids but not in solids.
*9 If a couple of blocks of ice are placed in a test-tube with water as shown in
Figure 12.13, the ice will float at the top ice is less dense than water.
Explain the process by which the ice obtains heat energy needed to melt.
Figure 12.13
For question 9.
ice blocks
water
The Space Shuttle has 27 416
tiles each of area 15 cm2 as
surface insulation. They are
made of low-density silica
fibre coated with waterproof
borosilicate coating. They can
*10 Explain how a hot cup of coffee sitting on the kitchen table loses heat energy. stand 1648C whereas the
*11 A concrete floor is 15 cm thick. If the temperatures on opposite sides of the aluminium skin underneath
floor are 4C and 20C, calculate the rate of heat flow per unit area of the floor. melts at 660C. Find out the
*12 Calculate the heat lost through a 3 m by 3 m brick wall if the wall is 30 cm thick thermal conductivity of these
and the temperature of the exterior is 5C and the internal temperature is 28C. tiles.

*13 Calculate the heat lost in 30 minutes through a 2 m 1 m 6 mm thick glass

window if the temperature difference between the two sides is 20C.
Sunflower seeds germinate *14 Does wood burning in a pot-belly stove warm the room by conduction,
faster if microwaved for convection, or by radiation? Explain.
30 s first. But if you do it for *15 What colour are the copper pipes used in solar hot water systems? Why are they
60 s they dont germinate at all. this colour?
On the other hand, carrot seeds *16 What is the difference between infrared radiation and visible light?
take 14 days whether they are
*17 Explain why an iron rod at 1000 K is red-hot while a similar rod at 2000 K is
given 30 s or 60 s. Propose a
white-hot.
testable hypothesis.
*18 Why on a cold morning do the silver handlebars of bicycles feel colder than the
black rubber hand-grips?
*19 On a cold winters morning why does a metal spoon feel colder than the table it
rests on?
*20 Why do knitted jumpers keep you warm in winter?
*21 Brass bases are good for saucepans, but why are the sides not made of brass?
There may be economical and weight reasons for this, but what is a good reason
in terms of conduction?
*22 A 375 mL can of Coke and a 375 mL bottle of Coke were placed in the freezer
at the same time.
(a) Which would cool the faster?
(b) What other physical characteristics of the containers would be worth
considering in arriving at your answer to part (a) of this question?
*23 Metal roofs of houses were traditionally left white or silver, but manufacturers
over recent years have been producing them in all colours. Is this a good move?
Explain.
*24 In cold countries where icy conditions can make roads slippery, gravel or soot is
thrown on the icy roads. What effect would this have?
*25 Why do many people die in intense bush fires without being touched by the
flames?
*26 A Davy Safety Lamp consists of a wire mesh box placed over a lit candle
(see Figure 12.14). If a stream of Bunsen burner gas is directed at the mesh cage
the gas burns but the flame does not come through and ignite the Bunsen
burner. Explain why this is so and its advantage in coal mines.
Figure 12.14
A Davy Safety Lamp.
*27 A glass box is equipped with glass chimneys. A small candle is placed under one
of the chimneys and smoke is introduced into the other chimney.
(a) In what direction does the smoke move? Explain why.
(b) A lid is put on the top of the chimney above the candle. What happens now?
*28 Will a candle burn in zero gravity, such as on board a space shuttle, even if there
is a normal supply of oxygen? Explain your answer.
***29 A candle is lit and placed in a can open at the top. The can is dropped from
shoulder height to the ground but remains upright while it descends. Will the
candle go out? Explain. If you cannot decide, try it.
***30 A match held near a powerful light bulb (say 100 W) will not ignite, but if you
blacken it with graphite from a lead pencil it will. Explain.
***31 People can dip their moist fingers in molten lead (400C) without getting burnt.
How can this be? Do not try it!
**32 Do you think you could make a lens out of ice and use it to focus the Suns rays
on some paper to ignite it? Would the ice melt before the paper was hot enough
to catch on fire? Explain in terms of radiation and conduction.
***33 Modern house designers pay a great deal of attention to the conservation of
energy. In doing so they insulate houses to reduce the loss of heat in winter and
the absorption of heat in summer. Heat is lost through the roof, the walls, the
windows, the doors and cracks. Suggest where most heat is lost. Also suggest
how these losses can be reduced. This will involve describing the types of
materials that may be used.
***34 Heat sinks on CPUs and transistors have certain characteristics that improve
their performance. They are normally black, thin, made of aluminium, and have
many vanes to increase their surface area. Critically analyse each of these
characteristics and the ability of each to help to remove heat from the device.
***35 Windows in office buildings are double glazed to conserve energy. Analyse the
construction of double glazed windows to determine how they achieve this
purpose.
***36 Many modern low-set school buildings are constructed of 20 cm concrete blocks.
If a school room has dimensions of 4.0 m 3.5 m 2.5 m, calculate the heat lost
from this room through the walls to the exterior in 30 minutes if the external
temperature is 15C and the internal temperature is 25C.
***37 Imagine a baby ducks body to be a perfect sphere of 7 cm diameter with an
internal temperature of 32C (Figure 12.15). Figure 12.15
Some data: Spherical duck.
4
Volume of a sphere = 3 r 3.
Surface area of a sphere = 4 r 2.
Thermal conductivity of feathers = 0.03 W/m/C.
(a) Calculate the rate of heat flow from the duck on a day when the outside
temperature is 15C. Make whatever assumptions about the duck and its
feathers you find necessary.
(b) How much heat does the duck have to generate per hour to maintain its
body temperature at 32C?
(c) Due to some genetic engineering, if the baby duck was a perfect cube
instead of a sphere but still had the same volume, would the rate of heat
loss be any different? Explain!

UNIT 05
Wa v e M o t i o n
CHAPTER 13
Wave Motion in One Dimension
13.1 INTRODUCTION
When a prize fighter trains by hitting a punching bag, energy travels from the closed fist to
the bag, and if someone is holding the bag, to that person.
When a baseball is hit, energy travels with the ball to the person who catches it. The
amount of energy it carries can be felt by the stinging of the hands.
But how does light energy travel from the Sun to be used by solar cells on Earth? Is the
energy carried by moving cricket balls, perhaps?
There seems to be no particle like a fist or a ball to carry the energy at least no visible
particle. Where the answer lies may be seen by observing a surfboard rider in the ocean. As
the unbroken wave passes the rider, he or she goes up and down but does not move forward. Figure 13.1
However, this water wave carries energy very much energy. Consider the energy carried by Does the energy from the Sun come
a tidal wave. (A poor or misleading term. A giant wave produced in the ocean often by like this?
volcanic activity or earthquakes is called a tsunami, and has nothing to do with the normal
tide movements.) One of the largest tsunamis recorded was caused by a volcanic explosion on
the island of Krakatoa on 27 August 1883. The resulting 40 m high tsunami lashed the coast
Sun
of Indonesia killing some 36 000 people. This tsunami was even registered by the tide gauges
in the English Channel. Tsunamis created this way often cause more deaths than the distur-
bance that created them. As tsunamis often cause havoc in Japan, Hawaii, and other Pacific
Islands, great efforts are made to detect the epicentre of the earthquakes by measuring wave
velocities. This allows determination of the expected time of arrival of the tsunami so people cricket
in low-lying areas can be warned and evacuated. balls
The above is one example of wave motion in nature. There are many more examples. Can
you think of some?
The understanding of waves is also important in modern-day conveniences. Water beds
have baffles in them to stop waves when a person rolls over. Wave generators are being used
to create waves in theme parks for the entertainment of patrons. The motion of the waves in Earth
oceans is one of the latest methods of generating electricity.
So waves can carry energy, but how do they do this?
13.2 WAV E S
Waves are classified according to the method of transfer of energy. If a medium is required
for the transfer of energy, then the waves are called mechanical waves. If no medium is
required and the waves are able to travel through a vacuum, then the waves are called
electromagnetic. In this chapter we will discuss only mechanical waves, while in Chapter 15
forms of electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, light and X-rays will be discussed.
A good working example of a mechanical wave can be created by dropping a stone in a
pool of water. A circular wave is seen to radiate outward from the point the stone enters the
water. In this case water is the medium.

Photo 13.1 Notice that, to create the wave, you have to create a disturbance in an undisturbed
Circular waves produced when a stone is medium. The wave continues to go outward until it runs out of energy. How is this loss of
dropped into a pool.
energy seen? The height of the wave is called the amplitude of the wave. It is the maximum
displacement of the wave from its equilibrium position shown as A in Figure 13.2.
amplitude
Displacement (cm)
4 A
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Distance (cm)
-4 A
Figure 13.2
The amplitude of a wave is the
maximum distance from the -8
equilibrium position.
What other quantity is determined by the amplitude of a wave?

The amplitude of a large water wave might be 10 m. This suggests that the wave would
have large amounts of energy. The larger the amplitude the more energy the wave possesses.
Put a lit candle in a room and The energy of the wave comes from the disturbance. Some of the energy of the stone is trans-
open a door quickly. How long ferred to the water wave. As you go further from the source of the wave the amplitude of the
will the breeze take to get to wave becomes less as the energy dissipates. Waves similar to these water waves can be
the candle? Measure the created in many objects. Children can often be seen holding the ends of a piece of skipping
distance and the time. Do you
rope or a hose and flicking it. A wave or pulse moves from the flicked end to the other end.
think the breeze would travel at
The energy put into the wave can easily be felt by the child at the other end. The energy can
the speed of sound in air?
be so great that it may cause the rope to flick out of the hands of the receiver. Notice that
the energy and the pulse moves along the rope without the particles that make up the rope
moving toward the receiver.
If there is a small branch floating in a pond what happens to it as a wave passes? The
branch goes up and down as the wave passes but returns to its original rest position once the
wave has passed. The same thing happens to you and your small fishing dinghy as the wash
from a large boat passes under you. The rest position is also called the equilibrium position.
Figure 13.3
A branch in a pond moves out and
back as a wave passes.
Wave types
Water waves or rope waves are particular types of waves. As seen in the water wave, the water
(and branch) move upward as the wave passes. The particles that make up the water move at
right angles to the direction the wave is travelling. This is the same for the rope wave. The
rope moves upward as the pulse passes and then back to its original position.
Wa v e M o t i o n i n O n e D i m e n s i o n 285
B Figure 13.4
The parts of a rope move
A C outward as waves pass.
A B
Waves that do this are called transverse waves. (The word transverse comes from the
Latin transvertere meaning to turn across). Each point of the wave vibrates perpendicularly
to the direction the wave is travelling perpendicular to the direction of propagation of
the wave (Latin propago = layer of a plant; adds layers as it grows outwards). Examples of
waves that are transverse in nature are waves in water; waves in ropes, hoses, and springs;
and electromagnetic radiation, examples of which are light, radio waves, and television waves.
Notice the direction of the motion of the particles of a spring as a transverse wave
passes as shown in Figure 13.5.
Figure 13.5
particles in path of direction of propagation In a transverse wave the particles
wave move up and down plus energy transfer move at right angles to the motion
of the wave. The direction of
individual particles is given by the
arrows.
particles
of medium
Another type of wave is a compressional or longitudinal wave. Examples of these can

be created in springs by compressing a part of a spring and then letting it go so the
compression travels down the spring.
motion of Figure 13.6

(a) particles (a) Transverse waves.
of spring (b) Longitudinal waves.
(b)
movement of
hand rarefaction
compression vibration of coils

The particles of a spring propagating longitudinal waves vibrate in the same direction as
the pulse is moving. This creates compressions and rarefactions. Can you think of other
types of longitudinal waves?
Musical instruments create longitudinal waves by their action on the air particles in close
proximity to the vibrating instrument. For example, when a drum membrane moves out it
forces air particles together, generating a compression. When it moves in it produces a
rarefaction. Tuning forks work in the same way (Figure 13.7). Would these instruments work
in outer space?
Figure 13.7 (a) rubber (b) (c)

Compression and rarefaction occur in when struck hammer
the prongs rarefaction compression
the air molecules surrounding the
prongs of a tuning fork. move
together
rarefaction
compression
Side view of a tuning fork Prongs move together Prongs move apart
(d)
rarefaction compression air molecules

vibrate back
and forth
WAV E C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S 13.3
A single disturbance produced by a source such as a flicking rope is called a pulse, but if a
continuous set of pulses is produced by a source with a constant time interval between the
generation of each pulse, the result is a wave, which has several characteristics. The
P H Y S I C S FA C T wavelength () is the minimum distance between two points on the wave that are in phase,
The symbol is the Greek L for example, the distance between two consecutive crests or troughs. If the two points are
(lambda) for length. in phase they are at the same distance from the rest position and are moving in the same
direction at the same time. For example, D and H in Figure 13.8 are in phase, as they are on
the equilibrium position and about to move up. C and E are out of phase C is about to
move down whereas E is about to move up. The wavelength of a wave is shown in Figure 13.8
between G and K, O and Q, or B and F. It is a little harder to see and measure the wavelength
of a longitudinal wave. It is the distance between the middle of adjacent compressions, or
adjacent rarefactions, as shown in Figure 13.9.
C crest G K
Figure 13.8 A = amplitude
Wave characteristics of typical O P Q R S T = wavelength
transverse waves. A
D F H J L N
B
rest axis
A

E trough I M
(a) Figure 13.9

(b) Wave characteristics of typical
longitudinal waves.
compression rarefaction compression
(b)
(c)
A A
particle motion
(c)
(d)

The June 2000 issue of the very
prestigious New England Journal
(d) of Medicine reported that the
(e)
average rate of jaw movement
of gum chewers in the USA is
100 Hz. What do you suppose
they really meant?
compression rarefaction compression
The frequency ( f ) of a wave is the number of waves passing a given point per second
or the number of waves created by the source per second. The unit for frequency would thus
become waves per second, or cycles per second (c s1), or the modern unit of a hertz (Hz)
named after the German physicist Heinrich Hertz (185394) who in the 1880s discovered
a technique for transmitting and receiving radio waves. A hertz is a cycle per second. For
example, if four crests pass a point in 1 second then the frequency is 4 Hz. The frequency of
visible light waves is between 4 1014 Hz and 8 1014 Hz. The ranges of frequencies heard
and produced by some animals and produced by some musical instruments are given in
Figure 13.10.
bat (1000120 000) Figure 13.10

cat (6065 000) Range of frequencies of sounds
produced by various animals.
crocodile (206000)
grasshopper (10015 000)
green frog (5010 000)
moth (3000150 000)
porpoise (150150 000)
robin (25021 000)
100 500 1000 5000 10 000 50 000 100 000

Frequency (Hz)

Activity 13.1 HEARING RANGE

1 See if you can find out the frequency range for sounds that humans can hear.
2 How does this range change as you get older?
3 Dogs are said to be able to hear sounds of higher frequency. Find out what range
of frequencies is audible to them.
The period of a wave is the time it takes for one full wave to pass; that is, one complete
cycle to pass. If the frequency of a wave is 10 Hz or 10 cycles per second, then 10 waves pass
per second. It will then take 1/10 second for one wave to pass. The period of the wave is
1/10 second. Therefore period (T) = 1/frequency.
T=1
f
The wave equation

How can we measure the speed of a wave? How fast is the wave travelling? You could measure
Figure 13.11
The propagation of a transverse wave how far the wave travels in a certain time or you could use the wave characteristics (Figure
with time. 13.11). At one instant, point A will be at the origin as shown. One period later point A will
be at A. This means the wave has travelled one wavelength in one period.
The speed of the wave = distance travelled/time taken.
Displacement (cm)
A A1
v = 1
T T 3T T 5T 6T 7T 2T Time
4 2 4 4 4 4 (periods)
T
v=1
T
v=f
This is known as the wave equation, where v is the speed of the wave in m s1, is the wave-
length of the wave in m, f is the frequency of the wave in Hz.
Note: this equation will apply to all wave forms, both mechanical and electromagnetic.
Example
An observer sitting on a shore counts the waves and finds that there are 6 waves per minute
hitting the shore. She measures the distance between consecutive crests to be 10 m. What is
the velocity of the waves?
P H Y S I C S FA C T Solution
Breweries monitor the v =f
percentage of alcohol in beer v = 6/60 Hz 10 m
as it flows through pipes by
v = 1 m s 1
passing it over a special beer
tuning fork. The rate of
vibration changes according to
the density (and hence alcohol
concentration) of the beer.
Questions
Clever huh? 1 Two students 5.0 m apart flicked a spring to create waves. They found that
when they flicked it twice per second, 10 wave crests were created between the
two students. Calculate the velocity of the waves.
2 The speed of light is 3.0 108 m s1. If the wavelength of red light is
5.0 107 m, what is its frequency?
3 Find the frequency of the light emitted from the common laboratory laser. You
will find the wavelength of the laser marked on it.
4 The frequency of a 5.0 m sound wave in water is 300 Hz. What is the speed and A boat catches fire and the
the period of the sound waves in the water? skipper jumps overboard and
swims away. The skipper hears
5 Figure 13.8 shows a transverse wave. If this wave is travelling to the right, what
an explosion while underwater,
is the direction of movement of points B, G, P, D, and M at this time? lifts his head out of the water
and hears another explosion.
Bystanders say there was only
one explosion but the skipper
13.4 WAV E S A N D B O U N DA R I E S says there were two. Who was

correct? Explain.
The speed of a wave is a characteristic of the medium in which it is moving, and changes
when a wave moves from one medium to another. This is shown in Table 13.1.
Ta b l e 1 3 . 1 S P E E D O F WAV E S I N VA R I O U S M E D I A Scientists monitor global
warming by measuring ocean
WAVE TYPE MEDIUM SPEED (m s 1 ) temperatures. They pass a 57 Hz
Sound carbon dioxide 260 signal at Heard Island in the
air 331 southern Indian Ocean and time
hydrogen 1290 its arrival at points in major
pure water 1410 ocean basins of the world.
How does speed vary with water
salt water 1450
temperature? Draw a graph.
glass 5500
Light vacuum 2.997 108
air 2.988 108
glass (crown) 2.0 108
Earthquake crust 3500
(transverse)
8000
(longitudinal)
mantle 6500
(transverse)
11 000
(longitudinal)
How can we best explain what happens when a wave hits a barrier or moves from one
medium to another? For example, what happens when light hits a mirror? What happens when
a pulse sent down a spring by one student hits the firm hand of another at the other end? We
will use waves in springs to investigate this principle. The spring pulse is easier to visualise
and to do experiments with than light waves. Why?
Figure 13.12 shows a spring attached to a wall. If a pulse is sent down this spring what
happens when it hits the wall? This might be a good time to observe this.
Figure 13.12
A slinky spring used to
investigate how waves are
reflected from fixed barriers.
fixed barrier

Activity 13.2 REFLECTION OF PULSES

Attach a spring to a wall or have a friend hold it firmly. This is called a fixed end.
1 Send a pulse (the incident pulse) down the spring and observe the reflection of
the pulse from this fixed end.
2 Measure the time taken for the pulse to travel from the source to the wall and
from the wall back to the source.
The pulse is reflected, which means it comes back along the spring. But on what side of
the spring does it return?
It will be observed to come back on the opposite side of the spring with approximately
the same amplitude. The reflected pulse is said to be inverted, out of phase, or 180 out
of phase with the incident pulse. It is said to have undergone a phase reversal. The speed
of the reflected pulse and the incident pulse will be the same, as the speed in a particular
medium remains constant.
Figure 13.13
A pulse reflects from a fixed end
fixed barrier
with a phase change of 180.
Activity 13.3 PHASE

This activity will help you to understand phase change in relation to angular degrees.
Rule up a piece of graph paper, making the vertical axis the value of the sin of the
angle. Make about 5 cm equal to one unit. Place the angle in degrees on the horizontal
axis. Using your calculator find sin , where = 0, 90, 180, 270, 360, 450, and
Figure 13.14 540. On the graph paper plot the value obtained for the sine of the angle against the
The wave produced by plotting the value
of sin against the angle . angle. Draw a smooth curve through the points. You should obtain something similar to
Figure 13.14.
1
This curve resembles a perfect transverse wave. Notice the position of the points on the
curve at 90, and 270. They are the same distance on opposite sides of the x-axis with 180
between them. When waves are reflected from fixed ends the reflected waves are on the
Sin
0
0 90 180 270 360 450 540 opposite side of the spring. This might help to explain why the reflected wave is said to be
Angles in 180 out of phase with the incident wave.
1 degrees Another way of understanding this is to view an object going around in a vertical circu-
lar path, such as a seat on a Ferris wheel. When viewing from the side you will notice a
particular seat on the wheel appears to go up and down like a cork in water when waves are
passing. The cork on a crest would correspond to the particular seat on the Ferris wheel being
at the top, and the cork would be in a trough when the seat is at the bottom. Since you go
through 360 to complete a single circle, then half a circle corresponds to 180, which is the
difference between the cork being on a crest or in a trough.
Reflection can also occur if the spring has a free end, that is, it is not fixed to a wall.
However, this time the pulse comes back on the same side as (in phase with) the incident
pulse.
Activity 13.4 REFLECTION FROM FREE ENDS

Try it!
Figure 13.15
A pulse reflects from an open
free end end with no phase change.
able to
move up
and down
the rod
free end
able to
move up
and down
the rod
The above cases are the two extremes. We will now consider a wave that meets a
boundary between two different springs.
A c t i v i t y 1 3 . 5 L I G H T E R TO H E AV I E R S P R I N G S
Try generating a pulse that travels from a lighter (less dense) spring to a heavier (more
dense) one as shown in Figure 13.16, and observe the resulting pulse(s) after the pulse
meets the boundary.
Figure 13.16
Two media a lighter spring
lighter spring and a heavier spring.
heavier (more dense spring)
When it meets the boundary (or join) some of the pulse is transmitted (continues on
into the more dense spring) and some is reflected. At this point it will be noticed that the
transmitted pulse is upright, in phase, or on the same side of the spring as the incident pulse,
but the reflected pulse is upside-down or out of phase. As far as the reflected pulse is
concerned, the boundary is behaving like a fixed end.
Figure 13.17
Waves going from a lighter spring
to a heavier one are reflected,
inverted and transmitted in phase.
lighter spring
heavier spring

Since the pulse has broken up, the amplitudes of both reflected and transmitted pulses
are smaller than the incident pulse. The amplitudes of the transmitted pulse and reflected
pulse are determined by the relative densities of the two media. If the second medium is
much heavier, the transmitted pulse will be small and the reflected pulse will be large. If the
second medium is only a little more dense, the transmitted pulse will be larger and the
reflected pulse will be smaller. The velocity of the transmitted pulse depends on the medium
but will be less than the incident or reflected pulses. However, the velocity of the reflected
pulse will be the same as the incident pulse as the pulses are travelling in the same medium.
A c t i v i t y 1 3 . 6 H E AV I E R TO L I G H T E R S P R I N G S
Now create a pulse that goes from a heavier spring to a lighter spring as shown in Figure
13.18, and observe the resulting pulses.
Figure 13.18
Waves going from a heavier
spring to a lighter spring. heavier
(more dense)
spring
lighter spring
It will be observed that both reflection and transmission occur. In this case both the
transmitted and reflected pulses will be seen to be on the same side of the spring as (in phase
with) the incident pulse. The boundary is behaving like a free end, as far as the reflected
pulse is concerned.
Figure 13.19
Waves going from a heavier spring
to a lighter spring are reflected in
phase and transmitted in phase.
heavier spring lighter spring
In general when waves go from a less dense to a more dense medium the reflected pulse
will be out of phase and the transmitted pulse will be in phase; and when waves go from a
more dense medium to a less dense medium the reflected and transmitted pulses will both be
in phase. This is summarised in Table 13.2.
Ta b l e 1 3 . 2 THE PHASE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN REFLECTED AND

TRANSMITTED PULSES, WITH RESPECT TO THE INCIDENT
PULSE WHEN IT MEETS VARIOUS BOUNDARIES
BOUNDARY REFLECTED PULSE TRANSMITTED PULSE
Fixed end out of phase
Free end in phase
Light medium to heavy medium out of phase in phase
Heavy medium to light medium in phase in phase
This principle of reflection of waves is important when applied to musical instruments,

such as open and closed wind instruments. This will be discussed in Chapter 15.
13.5 S U P E R P O S I T I O N O F WAV E S
You may have noticed that there are many instances when one wave meets another, either
those produced by nature or those produced by man. For example, what happens when waves
produced by two passing boats in the ocean cross over one another? What happens when
two sound waves or two light waves meet? Do they cancel each other out, resulting in the
elimination of both waves?
The intersection of two waves can be seen by producing pulses in a spring, one from
each end.
Activity 13.7 INTERSECTION OF PULSES

1 Produce pulses simultaneously from either end of a spring with:
(a) pulses on the same side of the spring;
(b) pulses on the opposite side of the spring.
2 Observe the resulting wave form when they meet, and after they pass.
3 Draw diagrams to represent these interactions.
In the above activity pulses are seen to add together when they pass over each other,
producing a much larger, or smaller, or differently shaped wave. The type of resulting wave
depends on whether the pulses were produced on the same side or on opposite sides of the
spring. However, once they have passed they continue as though they had not met. Figure
13.20 shows the resulting pattern produced when two pulses intersect. If they are produced
on opposite sides of the spring destructive interference occurs, producing a smaller wave,
or no wave at all at that instant. If they are produced on the same side of the spring
constructive interference occurs, producing a super crest.
Figure 13.20
(a) before Superposition of waves may cause
(a) destructive or (b) constructive
interference
interference.
destructive
interference node
after
interference
(b) before
interference
supercrest (notice that the
amplitude increases, but the
constructive width does not)
interference
after
interference
This process is called the principle of superposition. The resulting wave can be obtained
by adding the pulses displacements, from the equilibrium positions, at several points, as

Figure 13.21
When two waves are superimposed original pulses
their displacements add and they
with amplitude
continue unaltered.
arrows
superimposed
pulses
resulting
pulse
pulses after
interference
Standing waves
If a series of waves are created from each end of a spring of the same amplitude and
frequency, a stationary wave or standing wave is created. This occurs because of the
continued cancellations and additions of the waves as they travel along the spring and pass
through each other. When the first crests meet they produce a pulse of twice the amplitude.
Figure 13.22 A short time later (a quarter of a period) the pulses have moved so the crest of one is inter-
A standing wave produced by the
acting with the trough of another, producing a point of zero displacement a node. (The
continual generation and reflection of waves
off a fixed wall. Oscillation only occurs word node comes from the Latin word nodus, meaning knot it looks as though the spring
between the dashed and solid lines. is knotted together.) Another quarter of a period later each pulse has moved another quarter
antinodes nodes
of a wavelength and the two crests and two troughs again meet, producing super crests and
troughs antinodes. The characteristic standing wave pattern, as shown in Figure 13.22, is
difficult to produce by two students flicking a spring from either end as they have to contin-
fixed ually flick the spring in phase. But it is easy to produce by attaching the spring to a wall at
end
one end and flicking the other as shown in Figure 13.22. The resulting standing wave pattern
oscillates between the fixed and dotted lines as shown. Notice that the distance between two
successive nodes is a half of a wavelength.
Example
Construct the wave pattern produced when the two pulses shown in Figure 13.23 meet.
Figure 13.23
For example question. (a)
Solution
See Figure 13.24.
Figure 13.24 (b)

For example question.
Questions
6 Use the principle of superposition to determine the resulting pulse when the
pulses shown in Figure 13.25 are superimposed on each other.
(a) (c) Figure 13.25
For question 6.
Figure 13.26
(b) (d) For question 7.
(a)
7 Two identical waves are produced on either side and either ends of a rope
(Figure 13.26). Draw the resulting wave when they are in the positions shown. (b)
What do you notice about point X?
X
Wave motion in sports equipment
(c)
As you have seen in the chapters on force, momentum and energy there are several sweet
spots in bats and racquets. One is the centre of percussion the point that produces no
jarring in the hand when a ball is struck. This point is a nodal point for standing waves in the X
equipment.
Tennis racquet When a ball is hit, the racquet rings as waves run up and down its length
(d)
(Figure 13.27). The string node is just above the centre of the strings.
Baseball bat If you hold a bat loosely by the handle and tap it with a hammer you will
hear ringing at most points. But at about 16 cm from the far end (of a 78 cm aluminium bat) X
there will be very little sound. This is the nodal point and a ball struck here produces no
stinging in the hand if held at the node at the other end. Try it! (e)
string node handle node X
wave
diagram
Figure 13.27
The string node of the standing wave of
a tennis racquet is just above the centre
of the strings.
13.6 G R A P H I C A L A N A LY S I S O F M OT I O N
Wave motion can be represented graphically in two ways: amplitudedisplacement and Figure 13.28
An amplitudedisplacement
amplitudetime graphs. graph for wave motion.
20
Amplitudedisplacement graphs
Amplitude (cm)
10
The graph in Figure 13.28 represents the position of a wave at a certain time. From this graph 0
10 20 30 40 50 60
the amplitude and the wavelength of the wave can be determined. If the position of the wave 10 Displacement
at another time is given, the characteristics of the wave that involve time, such as the speed 20 (cm)
and the frequency of the wave, can be calculated.

Figure 13.29 Example

For example question. Figure 13.29(a) shows the position of a wave at time equals zero, and Figure 13.29(b) shows
(a) the position of the wave 0.10 second later.
time = 0 s (a) Calculate the speed and frequency of the wave.
Amplitude (cm)
2
1
(b) Draw the wave after another 0.2 second.
0 Solution
4 8 12 16
1
2
Displacement (a) The wave has travelled a distance of 4 cm in the 0.1 s. Therefore:
(cm)
(b) v= d
t
time = 0.10 s
Amplitude (cm)
2 = cm
4
1 0.1 s
0 = 40 cm s 1
1 4 8 12 16 20
2 Displacement v=f
(cm)
f=v

1
= 40 cm s
8 cm
= 5 Hz
Figure 13.30 (b) See Figure 13.30.

For solution to example
question. time = 0.30s
Amplitude (cm)
2
1
0
1 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 Displacement
(cm)
2
Hold an aluminium or steel
rod (unscrew a retort stand)
vertically and tap the top with a
Amplitudetime graphs
hammer. Hold it at different As well as indicating the amplitude of the wave these graphs indicate the position of the wave
places and note the change in and the position of points on the wave at certain times. Thus the velocity of the wave can be
sound. You can get frequencies
calculated.
greater than 20 000 Hz
(painful). How can you get Example
beats? A wave is created on a spring as shown (Figure 13.31). The displacement of point P is given
by the graph (Figure 13.32).
(a) Calculate the period of the wave.
(b) What is the amplitude of the wave?
(c) If the wave is moving at 5 cm s1 to the right what is the wavelength of the wave?
Figure 13.31 point P

Solution
(a) The wave repeats itself after (1.0 0.4) seconds, therefore the period is 0.6 s.
(b) Amplitude = 20 cm.
Figure 13.32
For solution to example question.
Position of point P (cm)

20
P Time
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (s)
20
(c) v= f
= v
f
=vT
= 5 cm s 1 0.6 s
= 3.0 cm
Questions
8 Figure 13.33 represents the displacement of particles in a rope with time as a
wave passes. Calculate (a) the amplitude of the wave; (b) the period of the
wave; (c) the frequency of the wave.
Figure 13.33
For question 8.
Displacement of particles (cm)
30
20
10
0 Time
0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 (s)
10
20
30
9 For the waveform shown in Figure 13.34 find the following:

(a) the wavelength of the disturbance;
(b) the amplitude of the wave;
(c) if the wave is travelling to the right at a speed of 80 cm s1, find the
frequency of the disturbance.
Figure 13.34
For question 9.
15
10
Displacement (cm)
5
0 Distance
20 40 60 80 100 120 (cm)
5
10
15

10 Figure 13.35 shows the position of a wave at two instances in time. From these
graphs determine (a) the amplitude of the wave; (b) the wavelength of the
wave; (c) the velocity of the wave.
Figure 13.35 time = 0.00 s

For question 10.
20
Displacement (cm)
10
0 Distance
20 40 60 80 100 (cm)
10
20
time = 0.2 s
20
10
Displacement (cm)
0 Distance
20 40 60 80 100 (cm)
10
20
Practice questions
*11 What happens to the speed of a pulse in a slinky spring if it is stretched?
*12 Explain the difference between a longitudinal and a transverse wave.
*13 A dinghy anchored in the ocean is seen to bob up and down as waves pass.
(a) What types of waves are they?
(b) How do you know this?
(c) What physical feature of the wave indicates the energy the wave possesses?
*14 Name a particular type of wave where the particles move at (a) right angles to
the direction of propagation; (b) in the same direction as the wave is moving.
*15 Describe what is meant by the wavelength of a wave in relation to a longitudinal
wave.
*16 State the wave equation indicating the meaning of the symbols used.
*17 Two students shaking a slinky spring create 10 waves in 5 seconds. The
wavelength of the waves is 50 cm.
(a) What is the frequency, period, and speed of the wave?
(b) If the wave was shaken at a greater frequency (i) what characteristics of
the wave would change; (ii) what characteristic would remain the same?
(c) How can the speed of the wave in the spring be changed?
*18 Students creating waves in two slinky springs joined together found that the
waves travelled down the first one, and were reflected upside-down from the
junction of the springs.
(a) What is the relationship between the heaviness of the two springs?
(b) Will waves be transmitted into the second spring and if so will they be in
phase or out of phase?
*19 What conditions are necessary for the creation of standing waves?
*20 Two identical waves are created from either ends of a long spring. Each wave has
a wavelength of 20 cm and an amplitude of 10 cm. This produces a standing
wave pattern.
(a) What is the maximum displacement of the resultant waveform as they pass
through one another?
(b) How far apart are the nodes?
*21 Two weekend anglers find that their 4 m boat bobs up and down 3 times in
20 seconds, and exactly 3 wave crests can fit under the boat at any one time.
What is the velocity of the waves?
*22 When a tuning fork is hit it vibrates at the rate of 300 vibrations per second.
If the speed of sound in air is 340 m s1, calculate the wavelength of the sound
waves produced.
*23 AM radio stations transmit radio waves that are electromagnetic waves similar
to light waves, but have a frequency from about 500 kHz to 30 MHz. If they
travel at 3 108 m s1, what is the wavelength of radio waves?
*24 The speed of sound in salt water is 1450 m s1, and 340 m s1 in air. If the
frequency of the sound being generated by a motor boat engine is 550 Hz, what
is (a) the wavelength of the sound in air; (b) the frequency of the sound in salt
water; (c) the wavelength of the sound in salt water?
**25 Figure 13.36 shows transverse waves being generated at the rate of 10 per
second. From this diagram determine:
(a) the amplitude of the waves;
(b) the wavelength of the waves;
(c) the period of the waves;
(d) the velocity of the waves.
Figure 13.36
For question 25.
4
3
2
Displacement (cm)
1
0 Distance
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 (cm)
1
2
3
4
**26 When earthquakes occur they create waves that spread outward from the source.
Three types of waves occur. The primary or P waves, which are caused by the
back and forth movement of rocks; the secondary or S waves, which travel as a
result of the up and down movement of rocks; and the L waves, which are ripples
that travel on the surface and are set up when the P and S waves reach the
surface. The L waves cause rocks to vibrate in an up and down motion.
(a) What type of waves are P, S, and L waves?
(b) Earthquake waves have a wavelength of 10 m and a speed of 3.0 km s1.
What is their frequency?
**27 Figures 13.37(a) and (b) show a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave
moving to the right. Indicate the direction of motion of the points A and B.

Figure 13.37 (a)

C I
For question 27.
B H
D M
A G J
E K
F L
(b)
A B C D E F
**28 Waves are sent down a set of connected ropes and later return to the sender as
shown in Figure 13.38. What is the relationship between the density of the rope
sections A, B, and C?
Figure 13.38 A
For question 28.
B C
A B C
Figure 13.39 **29 A standing wave pattern is set up by reflecting waves off a wall as shown in
For question 29.
Figure 13.39.
(a) Indicate the wavelength of the waves producing the standing wave.
(b) Which points are nodes?
A B C D E F G H I J K L
(c) Which points are antinodes?
(d) If the distance between A and F is 5.0 m, what is the wavelength of the
waves?
**30 Figure 13.40 shows a wave in the same section of a string at two different times.
What is the greatest possible period of the wave?
Figure 13.40 **31 A transverse wave is travelling from right to left through a series of particles. At
For question 30.
a certain instant the waveform is as shown in Figure 13.41. Each of the vibrating
particles is observed to perform two complete oscillations in 20 seconds.
t = 0.00 s (a) Find the following quantities: wavelength, frequency, amplitude, and speed
of the wave.
(b) At the instant shown, which of the particles (AH) are (i) moving upward;
t = 0.1 s (ii) moving downward; (iii) momentarily still?
(c) What will be the position of particle C one-quarter of a period later?
Figure 13.41 direction of wave motion

For question 31.
4 cm D
A E
C F H
B G
4 cm
*32 Figure 13.42 shows a wave of frequency 10 Hz at an instant in time. The wave is
travelling to the right.
(a) What is the wavelength of the wave?
(b) What is the speed of the wave?
(c) Using the letters shown, name any two points on the wave that are in
phase.
(d) If a reflecting barrier is placed at F, sketch on an appropriate diagram the
shape of the reflected wave.
Figure 13.42
For question 32.
A E
Displacement (m)
B D F
Distance (m)
1 2 3 4 5
**33 Draw neat diagrams to illustrate the reflected pulses in the four situations
shown in Figure 13.43. Each pulse is created in a rope.
Figure 13.43
For question 33.
(a) fixed (b) fixed
barrier barrier
(c) free (d) free

end end
**34 A heavy spring is attached to a lighter spring and then fixed to a wall as shown
in Figure 13.44. A pulse is sent along the heavier spring towards the wall.
(a) Draw the pulse that is transmitted into the lighter spring.
(b) Draw the shape of the pulse reflected from the lighter spring.
(c) What will happen when the pulse hits the wall?
Figure 13.44
direction of For question 34.
pulse
barrier
heavier spring lighter spring

**35 Figure 13.45 illustrates a pulse that is moving to the right along a stretched rope
at a speed of 4.0 cm s1.
(a) Draw the position of the pulse 1 s later.
(b) If A is a point on the rope, where will it be in 0.50 s?
(c) What is the amplitude of the wave?
Figure 13.45
Displacement (cm)
8 B C
For question 35. 7
6
5
4 A D
3
2
1
E
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Position (cm)
**36 Figure 13.46 shows the position of a wave in a rope at two instances in time.
Determine (a) the wavelength of the wave; (b) the frequency of the wave;
(c) the amplitude of the wave; (d) the speed of the wave.
Displacement (cm)
Displacement (cm)
Figure 13.46 2 2
For question 36.
1 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Displacement 1 Displacement
(cm) (cm)
t = 0.00 s t = 0.20 s

***37 Students sitting 50 m from the start of an athletic competition hear the starting
pistol start the race. (See Figure 13.47.) They hear a second noise 0.9 s later
due to the sound being reflected from the grandstand 150 m from the start.
What is the speed of sound on this day?
Figure 13.47 grandstand
For question 37.
150 m
starter
track 50 m
students
Figure 13.48
For question 38.
***38 Sounds are produced in stringed musical instruments by setting up standing
l
waves in strings by plucking them. Longitudinal stationary waves can be
produced in the air columns of wind instruments, like a flute, by blowing in
them. The air column can vibrate in a number of different ways. An example
of two modes of vibration in a closed-end pipe is given in Figure 13.48.
closed
or
end Draw the first five different modes of vibration for an open-ended pipe and
determine a general formula relating the length of the pipe to the wavelength
of the sound produced.
***39 A fisherman using an echo-sounder to locate fish finds that the reflected pulses
return after 0.20 s and 0.25 s. Interpret these two times and determine how far
from the ocean floor are the fish (if any).
***40 Can the Mexican wave, historically started at a World Cup soccer match in
Mexico in 1986 to distract the competitors, be regarded as a wave? Critically
analyse the features of this phenomenon in the light of wave characteristics.
***41 Figure 13.49 illustrates a pulse moving to the right along a stretched spring at
a speed of 5.0 m s1.
(a) Which of the points A, B, C has the greatest speed at this instant?
(b) Calculate the instantaneous velocity of point C.
(c) Draw the displacementtime graph and the velocitytime graph for the
point X on the spring. Take the zero for time at the instant shown in the
graph.
(d) Suggest why this particular situation is very unlikely.
Figure 13.49
For question 41.
50
40
30
A
20
Displacement (cm)
10
X
0 Position (m)
10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
20
B C
30
40
50

CHAPTER 14
W a v e M o t i o n i n Tw o D i m e n s i o n s
INTRODUCTION 14.1
Figure 14.1 Waves in springs, strings, or even hoses move in only one dimension along the material
(a) A ripple tank used to study water and back again. However, sound waves, water waves and light waves can move in any
waves. (b) Crests focus light to produce
number of directions. This is true for the majority of waves that occur in nature. Can you think
bright regions while troughs spread the
light out to produce dark regions. of other types of waves that are not confined to movement in one direction?
In this chapter we will look at some of the characteristics of waves that propagate in all
(a) foam directions.
dampers
light Did you know the following facts?
wave source Locating earthquakes, using ultrasound on unborn babies, and bats echolocation
generator
have something in common. Can you name it?
water
waves
The highest wave ever recorded was 34 m from crest to trough, produced during a
hurricane in 1933.
A landslide in 1958 produced a wave 24 m high in a canyon-like fiord in Alaska.
The highest wave ever ridden was a tsunami that struck Hawaii in 1868. It was surfed
in by a man named Holua, to save his own life.
ripple
tank
WAT E R WAV E S WAV E F R O N T S 14.2
paper
wave images The problem with analysing and observing sound and light waves is that they cannot be seen.
It is impossible to see and observe light waves. Why is this?
However, water waves can be generated and observed quite readily. All of us at some
(b)
stage have observed or enjoyed waves at the beach. Surfers use the energy of waves to carry
them forward. Many water amusement parks have wave generators to produce waves for the
rays from light source
enjoyment of the patrons. In the laboratory, wave generators create water waves in a ripple
tank (Figure 14.1(a)).
water The ripple tank consists of a square tray with a glass bottom to allow a light to shine
ripple through. The sides are normally metal and are lined with foam rubber to absorb waves and
tank thus stop reflections that may interfere with what is being observed. About 2 cm of water
is placed in the tray. A light source is placed above the tray, and shines through the water
and transparent bottom onto a screen placed under the tank. Waves are generated by means
of an electric motor to which is attached beads to create circular waves, or a straight rod to
produce straight waves. These dip into the water to create the waves as the motor turns.
screen
The waves produced in the ripple tank have the same characteristics as any transverse
dim bright waves. They consist of crests and troughs. The crests act like converging lenses to the light
from the light source and focus the light, creating bright areas on the screen. The troughs act
like diverging lenses and spread the light out, producing dark areas on the screen, as shown
in Figure 14.1(b).
The shape of the wavefront depends on the shape of the dipper producing the wave.
If a bead is used, circular wavefronts will be produced. If a straight bar is used, straight
Wa v e M o t i o n i n Tw o D i m e n s i o n s 305
wavefronts will be produced as shown in the photo. The distance between crests or wavefronts Photo 14.1
is a wavelength. Straight waves and circular waves being
generated in a ripple tank.
The crests of these waves move away from the source. The direction of propagation of the
wave is perpendicular to the wavefront, as shown in Figure 14.2. Points on the wavefront are
moving in phase. That is, all points are moving the same way, up or down, at the same time.
For a single point source the wavefronts radiate outward, forming circular waves. Other
examples of wavefronts radiating outward include those produced when bombs or firecrackers
explode.

wavefronts
direction
of
propagation
Figure 14.2
A straight-wave generator produces
wavefronts that are parallel to the
generator. A single dipper produces
circular wavefronts that propagate
wavefronts direction of radially.
straight-wave propagation
generator
It is often difficult to measure the wavelength of these waves as they are continually
moving. However, by using a stroboscope the wave pattern can be observed more clearly.
Activity 14.1 STROBOSCOPES

A small cross is drawn on a three-bladed electric fan. When the fan is illuminated
with a stroboscope, the cross appears stationary at strobe frequencies of 100, 150,
200, 250 and 300 Hz. What is the most likely frequency of the fan blade with the
cross on it?
If the hand-held stroboscope is rotated so that the time it takes to rotate the strobo-
scope from one slit to the next is the same time taken for one wave to move to the position
of the wavefront in front (one wavelength), the waves will appear to be stationary. (Refer to
Figure 14.3.) This will make measurement of wavelength easier. The frequency of the waves
can also be easily measured. If the stroboscope has 10 slits and is rotating at 4 times per
second, 40 slits pass the eye in 1 second. Therefore, the time between each sighting through
a slit, and thus the period of the waves, is 1/40 second. The frequency is therefore 40 cycles
per second or 40 Hz. If electronic stroboscopes are used the job becomes much easier. Figure 14.3
The speed of the waves can therefore be calculated using the wave equation, v = f . Waves appear stationary if the strobe
If the depth of the water is constant the speed of the wave will be constant, but if the is rotated at the correct speed. One
wavefront moves to the position of the
depth of the water varies the speed changes. Surface waves on water, which are a mixture of previous one.
transverse and longitudinal waves, travel more slowly in shallow water and faster in deeper
water. If a water wave moves from one depth of water to another it is similar to moving from
one medium to another. This will result in the wave being transmitted, and reflected in
first sighting
various ways as discussed in Chapter 13.
For other types of waves the speed depends on other factors. The speed of sound waves
depends on the density, pressure and type of gas they pass through. The speed of earthquakes
depends on the type of rock through which they move. g f e d c b a
Huygenss principle second sighting

Wavefronts are seen to radiate outward from a vibrating source. But how do these wavefronts
move?
The movement of the source of the disturbance causes those water particles in the near g f e d c b a
vicinity to vibrate in harmony with the source. These vibrating particles cause those next
to them to vibrate. Thus each particle on a wavefront is thought to be the source of a small

Figure 14.4 circular secondary wavelet (Figure 14.4). This principle was put forward by the Dutch physicist
Huygenss principle says that all Christian Huygens (162995) in the seventeenth century. Since all points on the wavefront
points on the wavefront produce
secondary wavelets, which are the
are in phase, each produces a wavelet moving outward with the same velocity. A short time
source for the resulting wavefront. later, after these wavelets have travelled a short distance, the wavelets are connected within
a common envelope, producing a new wavefront, which is the tangent to the wavelets. We
Stage 1 thus produce a new wavefront travelling outward. All points on this new wavefront then
original become the source for new wavelets, and the process continues.
wavefront Straight waves can be created by dipping a straight bar such as a ruler into the ripple
tank. All points on the ruler act as point sources for wavelets. Since all points are in phase
the envelope enclosing all wavelets produces a straight wave whose wavefront is parallel to
the source and whose direction of propagation is perpendicular to the wavefront.
Questions
Stage 2 each point 1 Explain clearly, with the use of diagrams, the terms wavefront and direction of
produces a
new wavefront propagation.
2 What is the relationship between the direction of propagation of a wave and the
wavefront?
3 A strobe with 10 slits is used to freeze the motion of water waves in a ripple
tank. It is found that the highest speed of rotation of the stroboscope needed to
produce a stationary wave pattern is 60 revolutions per minute. The wavelength of
the waves is measured to be 10 mm. Calculate the speed of the waves in the tank.
4 The wavefronts of straight waves produced in a ripple tank are shown in Figure 14.5.
Stage 3 new
wavefront Calculate the speed of the waves if the wave generator produces 5 waves per second.
5 Two dippers used to create waves in a ripple tank are 5.0 cm apart. They are
oscillating at the rate of 20 Hz, and the circular waves produced travel at 25 cm s1.
(a) What is the period of the waves?
(b) What is the wavelength of the waves?
(c) How many wavelengths fit between the two dippers?
(d) If the frequency of the dippers is doubled what is the new wavelength of the
waves?
REFLECTION 14.3
Figure 14.5 When a water wavefront meets a fixed barrier perpendicularly it is reflected back with the
For question 4. same velocity. If it meets the barrier at an angle, the reflected wavefront leaves at an angle
wave equal to the angle of incidence. To see how this occurs examine the diagram of a wavefront
generator ABC hitting a barrier (Figure 14.6).
incident wave
10 cm C reflected
wave
A''' C'
normal B
Figure 14.6
The reflection of a straight wave ABC A''
B''' C''
from a straight barrier. The process is B'
complicated by the interference between A
incident and reflected waves.
A' B'' C'''
Point A is the first point to hit the barrier at A and be reflected. It hits the barrier and
bounces back at the same angle to the normal (the line perpendicular to the barrier) as it
collided, as shown in Figure 14.6. When point B on the wavefront hits the barrier at B, B has
travelled a distance of BB. This means point A has moved away from the barrier the same Figure 14.7
distance (as all points travel the same speed in the one medium). Point A moves from A to When a straight wave is reflected,
angle i equals angle r.
A a distance equal to BB. The new wave is ABC as shown, with a part of the wave AB
moving away from the barrier and a part BC still moving toward the barrier. A short time later barrier
point C hits the barrier at C. Point A will then have moved a further distance away from
the barrier, a distance equal to CC, to point A. The entire reflected wave ABC is now reflected r i
waves
moving away from the barrier as shown. incident
waves
In general, water waves follow the same rules as light when reflected from a mirror, or
marbles when thrown at a brick wall. (This will be discussed in Chapter 17.) The angle
between the direction of propagation of the incident wave and the normal to the barrier is
equal to the angle between the direction of propagation of the reflected wave and the
normal as indicated in Figure 14.7. Photo 14.2
Straight waves being reflected from a
This is stated as the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.
barrier in a ripple tank.
You can see how difficult it is to visualise, and explain, what is happening even using
simple diagrams, let alone to observe this in a ripple tank. The interactions between the in-
coming and the reflected waves makes observation and analysis confusing. The reflection of
waves and the interaction of incoming waves and reflected waves can be observed in nature
when the incoming waves in the ocean interact with those reflected off the headland, off
large boats or sea-walls.
Activity 14.2 REFLECTION

Generate straight waves in a ripple tank and observe the resulting pattern when these
waves are reflected from a barrier.
The same principles of reflection apply when circular waves interact with straight Figure 14.8
When a curved wave reflects from a
barriers or when straight waves reflect from curved barriers, as shown in Figure 14.8.
straight barrier the reflected wave
Notice for the circular wave in Figure 14.8 that the front part of the wave hits the appears to originate from a point
barrier first, therefore it is reflected first, creating a curved reflected wave that gives the behind the barrier.
impression that it was made by a source behind the barrier. image
Straight waves reflecting from a curved barrier result in the focusing of the waves to a
point. After passing through the point where this occurs (the focal point) the sides get
further behind, resulting in a curved wave. (See Figure 14.9). Curved waves generated at the barrier
focal point and reflecting from the correctly curved barrier can produce straight waves, as reflected wave
incident waves
barrier
source
Figure 14.9
A straight wave becomes curved and
F passes through the focal point when
focus reflected from a curved barrier.
incident reflected
waves waves
incident waves reflected waves Figure 14.10

A wave originating from the focal
point of a curved surface is reflected
as a straight wave.
F
focus
barrier

Figure 14.11
For question 8.
Questions
6 Give a definition of the terms normal, angle of incidence, and angle of
(a)
reflection. Use a diagram to help to explain the meaning of these terms.
7 A straight wave strikes a straight barrier at an angle of incidence of 25.
Draw a diagram to show the incident and reflected waves.
8 For each situation in Figure 14.11 where waves are incident on reflecting
barriers, draw the wavefronts of the waves after reflection.
(b)
REFRACTION 14.4
When waves pass from one medium to another further properties of waves can be observed.
To change the medium for water waves only requires changing the depth of the water. This
can be accomplished by placing a sheet of glass or Perspex in the ripple tank so the depth of
water over it is less than the surrounding water in the tank. This divides the tank into two
(c) areas, as shown in Figure 14.12.
If straight waves are created so that the wavefronts hit the shallow area parallel to the
boundary, they will pass from the deep region into the shallow region without change in
direction. However, waves travel more slowly in shallow water compared with deep water, and
F since the frequency of waves in both regions is the same because they are produced by the
one source, the wavelength of the waves changes. Since v = f , and because v becomes less
in the shallow water, and f remains the same, must decrease. The resulting pattern is
shown in Figure 14.13. Table 14.1 shows the relationship between the depth of water, speed,
and wavelength of waves.
Figure 14.12
Placing a piece of Perspex or
glass in a ripple tank divides the water shallow
into two regions of different depths so water
refraction of waves can be investigated.
glass deep
Figure 14.13
When a wave passes from one depth to Ta b l e 1 4 . 1
another its speed and wavelength
change.
Depth shallow deep
Wavelength short long
Speed slow fast
Remember it this way: shallow, short, slow (the 3 s rule).

d s The reverse is also true. When waves go from a shallow to a deeper region they speed up
and their wavelength increases. However, if the waves hit the junction between media at
Deep region Shallow region an angle other than 90 they change direction. This change in direction of the waves as they
V s < Vd
s < d go from one medium to another is called refraction, which comes from the Latin refractus
f s = fd meaning broken off. This property is explained in Figure 14.14.
Figure 14.14
When a wave hits the boundary between
two depths of water at an angle, it
changes direction.
deep A' B'

region
C'
shallow
region
A B C
When wave ABC, travelling in a deep region, hits a junction between a deep and shallow Photo 14.3
region at an angle, as shown, C hits the junction first. A short time later A and B have moved Straight waves being refracted as they
a small distance to A and B, but because C is travelling in a medium where the wave travels go from a deep area to a shallow area in
a ripple tank.
more slowly it has fallen behind and only moved to C. The wave now becomes ABC. As the
direction of propagation of the wave is perpendicular to the wavefront, the wave has changed
direction in the shallower region.
If a set of periodic waves is moving from one medium (deep) to another (shallow) as
shown in the photo, all waves change direction and the wavelength decreases.
The size of the change in direction and the wavelength will depend on the relative
change in depth of the water. If the difference between the depths of water is large the waves
change direction and wavelength a great deal.
Again the reverse is also true. If waves move from a shallow to a deeper region at an
angle to the junction, the wavelength becomes larger as the waves get further ahead. The
angle between the direction of the propagation of the incident wave and the normal is called
the angle of incidence. The angle between the normal and the direction of propagation
of the refracted wave is called the angle of refraction (see Figure 14.15). These will be
discussed more fully in Chapter 17 (Optics) where they can be viewed and measured more
easily. When using light, refraction will occur when the waves propagate across the junction
between air and glass, for example.
Note, however, that in going from deep to shallow water the angle of refraction is smaller Figure 14.15
than the angle of incidence. You can add this other s word to your list: shallow, short, slow, The wavelength decreases when waves
go from deep to shallow water, and
and small. Note that while speeds, wavelengths and angles change, frequency does not. increases when going from shallow to
deep water.
Seismic waves
deep r
The study of waves produced by earthquakes (seismology) has been, and is, very important water
in determining the structure and properties of the Earth. Earthquakes produce three types fast
waves
of waves that radiate out at high speeds from the epicentre of the earthquake. They are P i
(primary) waves, which are longitudinal waves, S (shear) waves, which are transverse waves, shallow water
slow waves
and surface waves, which travel along the surface of the Earth and are transverse and more normal
complicated elliptical waves. The speeds of these waves are given in Table 14.2. However, direction of
propagation
their speeds and direction are affected by the material in which they move.
Ta b l e 1 4 . 2 T H E A P P R O X I M AT E S P E E D S O F S E I S M I C WAV E S
WAVE TYPE WAVE SPEED (km s 1 )
deep water
P wave 8.0 slow fast
S wave 4.5 i
r
Surface wave 2.0
shallow
water
Seismic waves can be detected by seismographs, which record the movement of the Earth. normal
Because seismic waves travel through the whole planet and can be detected at various
stations on the Earths surface, a great deal of information about the Earths crust, mantle,
and core has been found. Continual research has identified the depth of the crust, the size of
the mantle, the existence of a liquid outer core, and even the thickness and probable
constituents of finer layers within the mantle.
Questions
9 Figure 14.16 indicates the position of straight waves in a ripple tank at a
particular instant. The velocity of the waves in section A is 10 cm s1.
(a) Explain the reason for the different wavelengths in the two sections.
(b) Calculate the frequency of the waves in section A.
(c) What is the frequency of the waves in section B?
(d) What is the speed of the waves in section B?

Figure 14.16
For question 9. section B
ripple
wavelength
tank
3.0 cm
section A
wavelength
direction 2.0 cm
of travel
10 Straight waves of wavelength 2.5 cm have a speed of 8.0 cm s1 in a region in a

ripple tank where the depth of water is 2.0 cm. They pass into a region of depth
1.0 cm where the speed is determined to be 6.0 cm s1. Find the wavelength of
the waves in the new region.
11 Straight waves in a ripple tank move from region (i) where their wavelength is
4.0 cm to region (ii) where their wavelength is 3.0 cm (Figure 14.17).
(a) Which region is the deeper?
Figure 14.17 Region (ii) Region (i)

For question 10.
Photo 14.4 r
Straight waves passing through a small
opening in a barrier in a ripple tank are
diffracted.
i 4 cm
3 cm
(b) Calculate the ratio of the wavelength in region (i) to that in region (ii).
(c) Calculate the ratio of the speed of the waves in region (i) to the speed of
the waves in region (ii).
(d) Calculate the ratio of the frequency of the waves in region (i) to the
frequency in region (ii).
(e) What is the name given to this phenomenon?
D I F F R A C T I O N O F WAT E R WAV E S 14.5

Figure 14.18 Another property of water waves is often observed when waves from the ocean enter an inlet.
Diffraction of a wave at an edge can be They form a circular pattern. It can be easily observed in the ripple tank by placing two large
explained by Huygenss principle.
blocks of glass or metal obstacles, to produce a slit, in front of the straight waves. The waves,
as they pass through the slit, produce a circular wave, as shown in the photo.
barrier This bending of waves as they pass through a slit is called diffraction (from the Latin
diffractus meaning to break apart). Similar bending occurs if the waves pass around the end
incoming
waves
of an obstacle.
Diffraction can be explained in terms of Huygenss principle. As a straight wavefront
enters the aperture (the slit), a secondary wavelet is produced by each point on the wave-
diffracted
wave front in the aperture. This continues to occur as the wavefront travels outward. The envelope
enclosing the wavelets adds, to produce a straight wave in the centre but the edges remain
curved. The wave curves around the apertures edges, as shown in Figure 14.18.
Changing the slit width

point It can be easily reasoned using Huygenss principle that if the aperture was smaller the shape
sources of
new wavefronts
new wave front of the waves passing through the aperture would be more curved, more circular, and if the
aperture were larger the resulting waves would be straighter except for the edges. This is in Figure 14.19
fact what occurs. This can be observed easily in the ripple tank by changing the position of Diffraction is more noticeable when the
size of the slit is comparable to the
the obstacles making up the slit. Figure 14.19 shows the resulting patterns. wavelength of the waves.
Changing the wavelength

Changing the wavelength of the waves also affects the diffraction pattern. Diffraction is more
noticeable, that is, a more circular wave pattern is produced, if the wavelength is equal to or
greater than the opening. It is the relative difference in the size of the wavelength and the
size of the slit that is important (Figure 14.20).
A diffraction pattern can be observed in the ocean around boats, large rocks and buoys. barrier
However, the amount of diffraction depends on the size of the objects compared with the
wavelength. If the object is large compared with the wavelength a significant diffraction
pattern occurs around the edges of the object, producing a shadow zone.
barrier
Figure 14.20
short long long Diffraction is greater when the
narrow gap narrow gap wide gap wavelength is large and the gap
narrow.
Why dont body surfers produce diffraction patterns and shadow zones? Figure 14.21
Diffraction of water waves in the ocean is partly responsible for the formation of many An obstacle affects the waves if it is
large compared with the wavelength of
offshore islands. Consider a land formation consisting of a peninsula as shown in Figure the waves, producing a shadow zone.
14.22. Straight waves parallel to the shoreline would diffract around the front of the penin-
sula, thus breaking on the sides of the peninsula and causing erosion. Over thousands of years an obstacle larger than
the erosion would eat into the peninsula, cutting off the land and forming an island. Constant the wavelength
diffraction around these islands would also affect the shape of the islands.
It is advantageous to students who sit in the back of the classroom that the wavelength
of common human speech, about 1 m, is larger than common classroom objects: tables, shadow zone
chairs, and even students. Remember, if the wavelength of waves is smaller than, or similar large
in size to, objects placed in their path, diffraction causes shadow zones. (See Figure 14.21.) object
However, if the object is much smaller than the wavelength, this effect is unnoticeable. Think
what would happen if sound waves produced by the teacher were smaller than the student
an obstacle of similar size
themselves, or their chairs, tables etc. What would the students in the back of the room hear? to the wavelength
Can you use this as an excuse for why you cannot hear, particularly if you have a large
no shadow zone
student sitting in front of you?
straight
waves
small object
diffracted waves
Figure 14.22
Straight waves in the ocean diffract
erode the peninsula
around a peninsula, causing erosion on
the sides, eventually cutting off the
peninsula.
peninsula

I N T E R F E R E N C E O F WAT E R WAV E S 14.6

Photo 14.5 As seen in Chapter 13, when waves meet they may reinforce or cancel each other out (super-
Interference produced by two sources of position), but then continue on as though they had not met. If they are the same shape, and
waves in a ripple tank. amplitude, and on the same side, they will constructively interfere to produce a wave of
twice the amplitude, an antinode. If they are on opposite sides they will destructively inter-
fere, cancelling each other out, producing a node. Two-dimensional water waves undergo the
same phenomena but the pattern is more complicated as the waves from two sources radiate
outward in all directions.
To produce waves in a ripple tank that are in phase and have the same amplitude involves
the use of a wave generator that has two beads (dippers) attached to a straight rod. As the
electric motor moves the rod up and down the two beads dip in and out of the water, pro-
ducing two sets of circular radiating waves that are in phase and of the same amplitude.
Another term for in-phase is coherent.
As the waves radiate outward, a crest from one dipper will meet a crest from the other,
Figure 14.23 and constructive interference occurs, producing a larger crest. The same happens when a
The interference pattern produced by trough from one meets a trough from the other.
constructive and destructive interference When a crest from one meets a trough from the other, destructive interference occurs and
of waves from two sources.
the waves cancel.
As the waves radiate outward they continue to add and cancel. The resulting pattern that
occurs is the characteristic interference pattern produced by two sources in phase. (See
Photo 14.5.)
It will be noticed in this photograph that there are regions that are bright, dark and grey.
The grey or shadow areas are areas where cancellation has occurred, that is, where a trough
from one source cancels a crest from the other. A bright area is where two crests meet,
source 1 producing a larger crest. This acts like a convex lens and focuses the light on to the screen
below the ripple tank, forming a bright area. When two troughs meet they produce a larger
trough, which spreads the light out to form a dark region, as previously shown in Figure 14.1.
source 2 The resulting pattern can be drawn schematically with lines through the grey areas of
undisturbed water, as shown in Figure 14.23. These lines are called nodal lines. Lines can
also be drawn through the bright and dark regions regions of constructive interference.
These are antinodal lines.
You may understand this better when we consider some points on the pattern (Figure
14.24). Consider point X on the central antinodal line (the central maximum). This point
is a distance of S1X from source S1 and a distance S2X from source S2. It will be noticed that
X is 3 from S1 and is 3 from S2. The difference in distance from the two sources, the path
constructive difference (PD), is zero wavelengths.
destructive
troughs central
1st
dashes maximum 1st
nodal 2nd
Figure 14.24 line antinodal nodal
Interference pattern of waves line line
from two sources.
2nd
crests antinodal
B line
full lines Q
D 3rd
antinodal
line
Y
A
P
C
1 X
1
1
S1 S2
Now look at a point Y further out but still on the central maximum. The difference in
distance from the two sources S1 and S2 is S1Y S2Y = 4 4 = 0.
If this is tried again it will be found that the path difference for all points on the central To calculate the total number
maximum is always zero wavelengths. of nodal lines produced by two
coherent point sources, let
Now consider point P on the first antinodal line. The distance from S1 to P (S1P) is 4 and
= 90, calculate n and
the distance from S2 to P (S2P) is 3. The path difference is S1P S2P = 1. If we find the
multiply by 4 (because there are
path difference for point Q, further out on the first antinodal line, we will again find it to be four lots of 90 in a circle).
1. For all points on the first antinodal line the path difference is 1. Alternatively, calculate the
angle between two nodal lines
A c t i v i t y 1 4 . 3 A N T I N O DA L L I N E S and divide into 360. Each
method gives a slightly different
Find the path difference for points on the second and third antinodal lines. result. Why is this?
Antinodal line formula A general formula for antinodal lines becomes: the path difference
for points on the nth antinodal line = n. Where n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
A c t i v i t y 1 4 . 4 N O DA L L I N E S
1 Repeat the above exercise to find the path difference for points A and B on the
first nodal line and for points C and D on the second nodal line.
2 Derive a general formula for points on the nth nodal line.
Nodal line formula The general formula obtained should be: the path difference for points
1
on the nth nodal line = (n 2 ). Where n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
Example
Figure 14.25 shows the interference pattern produced by two coherent sources of waves in a
ripple tank. The lines represent wave crests.
(a) Is constructive or destructive interference occurring at points (i) A; (ii) B; (iii) C?
(b) On what order nodal or antinodal line do the following points lie: (i) B; (ii) C?
(c) If the distance from S1 to A is 4.0 cm and S2 to A is 10 cm what is the wavelength
of the waves?
(d) If the distances to an unknown point P are S1P = 8 cm, S2P = 16 cm, on which
nodal or antinodal line does point P lie?
Figure 14.25
B
C
A
S1 S2
Solution
(a) (i) Constructive, as A lies on a double crest.
(ii) Constructive, as B lies on a double trough.
(iii)Destructive, as C lies on a crest from S1 and a trough from S2.
(b) (i) B lies on the central maximum line as the path difference is zero
wavelengths.
(ii) C lies on the second order nodal line as the path difference is one and a
half wavelengths, (n 21 ) = 1 21 .
(c) The distance from S1 to A is 4 cm, which equals 2, then = 2 cm.
(d) The path difference is 16 cm 8 cm = 8 cm, which equals 4. Therefore, this
point lies on the 4th antinodal line.
These formulas can only be used when the two sources are in phase. If one
source is generating waves at a different time from the other, that is, they are
out of phase, the formula needs to be modified.

I N T E R F E R E N C E O F S O U N D WAV E S 14.7
Interference of sound waves can be observed very easily in the laboratory using two speakers
connected to a single generator, as shown in Figure 14.26. It is important that the speakers
are in phase. This can be checked by taking the grilles off the front of the speakers and check-
ing to see that they both move in and out together when on a low frequency, say 1 Hz.
signal generator
Figure 14.26
A single signal generator and two
speakers produce coherent sound
waves. There is an interference
pattern containing nodal lines
where no sound is heard.
nodal antinodal
speaker lines lines speaker
no
sound
heard
no sound sound
sound heard heard
heard
Nodal lines are produced. If a person walks across the room in front of the speakers
different degrees of loudness can be detected.
Then why doesnt the interference of waves work at home?
Why dont you observe this phenomenon when you move in front of the two speakers
of your stereo?
Why dont you see dark and bright light bands when you walk between two wall
mounted lights in the living room at home?
The answer to the second question has already been discussed. Revise the previous section.
The answer to the third question will be discussed in Chapter 15.
Questions
12 Figure 14.27 shows an interference pattern produced by two coherent sources.
Figure 14.27
For question 12.
N
O P
Q
M
S1 S2
(a) Which of these sets of lines, the dotted lines or full lines, represents nodal
lines? Why?
(b) If the distance from S1 to point P is 6 cm and from S2 to P is 4 cm, deter-
mine the wavelength of the waves.
(c) Is constructive or destructive interference occurring at points (i) M; (ii) N;
(iii) O; (iv) Q?
Practice questions N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Make up five questions
that would test a persons
question number: * = low; ** = medium; *** = high. understanding of wave motion.
Review applying principles and problem solving Think about whether your
*13 What is meant by the terms wavelength and direction of propagation? Use questions are just about recall
diagrams to assist in the explanation of these terms with reference to straight of facts or are really testing the
persons understanding.
and circular water waves.
*14 What is meant by the terms incident wavefront and reflected wavefront?
Explain these terms with the use of a diagram.
*15 A dipper used in a ripple tank experiment dips into the water at the rate of
12 times in 2.0 seconds. At the end of that 2.0 seconds the outermost wavefront
is found to be 15 cm from the source. Determine (a) the velocity of the waves;
(b) the period of the waves; (c) the wavelength of the waves; (d) the frequency
of these waves.
*16 A continuous set of straight waves is produced in a ripple tank by using a
vibrator. After 1.2 s the furthest wavefront is found to have travelled a distance
6.0 cm from the source. The distance between successive crests is measured to be
1.2 cm. Calculate the speed and frequency of the waves.
*17 A set of straight waves strikes a straight barrier so that the wavefronts make an
angle of 40 with the barrier. Show the incident wave and the reflected wave on
a diagram.
*18 Periodic straight waves are generated in a ripple tank. They are seen through a
stroboscope with 10 slits. The stroboscope is turned at its fastest speed to freeze
the motion of the wave without changing the wave pattern. It is found that the
stroboscope is turned at a speed of 25 revolutions in 10 seconds. Calculate
(a) the frequency of the waves; (b) the speed of the waves if the distance
between successive crests is 2.5 cm.
*19 A ripple tank is divided into a deep and a shallow region, by placing a thin sheet
of glass to cover half the tank. In the deep region waves are found to have a
velocity of 8 cm s1, and a wavelength of 6 cm. In the shallow region they have
a speed of 6 cm s1.
(a) What is the frequency of the waves in the deep region?
(b) What is the wavelength of the waves in the shallow region?
*20 (a) Explain with the use of diagrams the meaning of diffraction.
(b) Give two examples of where diffraction occurs in nature.
(c) Show with the use of diagrams how the diffraction pattern depends on the
size of the opening and the size of the wavelength of the waves.
*21 If a series of straight waves passes through a narrow slit in a ripple tank, what
changes occur to the following properties of the waves as they pass through the
slit: (a) wave pattern; (b) wave speed; (c) wavelength; (d) period?
*22 If noticeable diffraction of waves through an aperture is to occur, state the
conditions that are necessary.
*23 How does the frequency of straight waves change as they are diffracted passing
through a small opening?
*24 What is the difference between constructive and destructive interference?
*25 What conditions are necessary for points within an interference pattern to lie on
(a) the 6th antinodal line; (b) the 3rd nodal line; (c) the nth antinodal line?
*26 Two point sources continually vibrate in phase in a ripple tank. An interference
pattern with eight nodal lines is produced. What will happen to the number of
nodal lines in each of the following cases?
(a) The frequency is halved.
(b) The distance between the sources is doubled.
(c) The wavelength is doubled.

Figure 14.28 *27 Draw the reflected wavefronts after reflection in the situations illustrated in
For question 27. Figure 14.28.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
F
F
Figure 14.29 *28 Figure 14.29 shows a set of waves going from shallow water to deep water. Find
For Question 28. the ratio of:
(a) the frequency of waves in shallow water
the frequency of waves in deep water
10 cm (b) the velocity of waves in shallow water
the velocity of waves in deep water
deep
shallow *29 Straight waves of frequency 10 Hz are produced in the deep end of a ripple tank.
These waves move from the deep end to the shallow end (Figure 14.30).
6 cm Calculate the speed of the waves in the deep and the shallow regions of the
ripple tank.
*30 Figure 14.31 represents three ripple tanks containing barriers to form apertures
to straight waves. Redraw the diagrams to show the resulting wave pattern after
the waves have passed through the openings.
Figure 14.30
For question 29.
shallow region (a) (b) (c)

ripple ripple
tank tank
barriers barriers
m
6c 8 cm
deep region
Figure 14.31
For question 30.
*31 Figure 14.32 shows sets of waves incident on openings between pairs of barriers.
In which of the situations will diffraction most likely be more noticeable? State
reasons.
Figure 14.32 A B
For question 31. barriers
wavefronts
C D
barriers
wavefronts
*32 Straight waves in a ripple tank approach a straight barrier which is parallel to
the wavefronts. There is a gap of width w in the barrier. The wavelength of the
waves is . In which of the cases in Table 14.3 will the waves be most strongly
diffracted?
Ta b l e 1 4 . 3 DATA F O R Q U E S T I O N 3 2
A B C D E
Wavelength (cm) 1.0 1.5 2.5 0.5 2.0
Width (cm) 2.0 2.0 2.0 4.0 4.0
*33 An interference pattern is shown in Figure 14.33. Are the points A, B, and C on
nodal or antinodal lines?
Figure 14.33
For question 33.
B
A
C
S1 S2
*34 Two dippers are separated by 8.0 cm in a ripple tank. The generator causes the
dippers to oscillate 100 times in 10 seconds, and the circular waves produced
travel at 20 cm s1.
(a) What is the frequency of the waves produced?
(b) What is the wavelength of the waves in the ripple tank?
(c) Draw a diagram of the resulting interference pattern labelling the nodal and
antinodal lines.
(d) How many nodal lines are formed?
(e) How do the above answers change if the frequency of the dippers is
doubled?
*35 Figure 14.34 shows the pattern produced when two sets of circular waves are
produced by dippers in phase in a ripple tank.
(a) At point A, is constructive or destructive interference occurring?
(b) At point B, is constructive or destructive interference occurring?
(c) Is point C on a nodal line or an antinodal line? Which order line?
(d) Which nodal or antinodal line is point D on?
(e) If the frequency of the dippers is decreased what would happen to the
interference pattern?
(f) If dipper X were producing waves half a period after dipper Y what would
happen to the interference pattern?
Figure 14.34
dipper X dipper Y For question 35.
D
A
C
B

Figure 14.35 **36 Two point dippers A and B are driven by a vibrator to produce waves that are in
For question 36. phase and of the same frequency (10 Hz), in a ripple tank (Figure 14.35).
X (a) If a wave takes 0.50 s to go from A to point X a distance of 100 mm, what is
the speed of the waves?
(b) What will be the speed of the waves from source B?
(c) Determine the wavelength of the waves.
(d) Does constructive or destructive interference occur at point X?
mm
(e) Which nodal or antinodal line does point X lie on?

110
(f) If the frequency of the sources is doubled indicate what would happen to
100
mm
the interference pattern. Which nodal or antinodal line does point X now
lie on?
***37 In Figure 14.36 S2 is producing crests when S1 is producing troughs. They are out
A of phase. The resulting wave pattern is shown.
B
(a) Draw the first three nodal and antinodal lines.
(b) By choosing a range of points on the first, second, and third antinodal lines
and the first, second, and third nodal lines, develop a general formula for
the path difference between points on the nth antinodal and the n th nodal
line, for this out-of-phase situation.
Figure 14.36
For question 37.
S2 S1
***38 It is noticed in areas close to airports that television reception is distorted

when aircraft fly overhead but radio reception remains unaffected. Explain how
this might occur.
Hint: you might consider calculating approximate wavelengths of radio waves
and television waves.
***39 Wavefronts approaching a beach form a pattern similar to that shown in Figure
14.37. Analyse the wave pattern and deduce, with explanation, the structure of
the beach that would produce such a pattern.
waves
Figure 14.37
For question 39.
direction
of waves
beach
CHAPTER 15
Light A Wave?
15.1 INTRODUCTION
Have you ever wondered about the following things concerning light?
If a camera lens is made of clear glass, why does it look purple?
Why do soap bubbles look so colourful?
If you had a powerful enough microscope, could you see a single atom?
How can light be both a wave and a particle? Surely it is one or the other?
In Chapter 14 we investigated the properties of two-dimensional waves; in particular, water
waves. The reason for this was that they are easier to observe and investigate in the labora-
tory. It is now time to investigate the properties of light; in particular, visible light. However,
visible light, the light that enables us to see objects, is just a small part of all the electro-
magnetic waves that are around us. Radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, for example, all
travel through space at the speed of 3 108 m s1 and make up a part of that group of waves
called electromagnetic waves.
Figure 15.1
The electromagnetic spectrum.
(m) visible spectrum

108 106 104 102 100 10-2 10-4 10-6 10-8 10-10 10-12 10-14 10-16
radio waves X-rays
microwaves ultraviolet
infrared
gamma rays
100 102 104 106 108 1010 1012 1014 1016 1018 1020 1022 1024
f(Hz)
But we seem to be jumping the gun. We are assuming that light travels through space by
means of wave motion and not as particles. The particle nature of light is another issue
and will be taken up in a later chapter. However, we can show that light does exhibit wave
characteristics similar to those of water waves. Again, it is impossible to investigate the
properties of all electromagnetic waves in a school laboratory, but we can investigate visible
light waves as several of their effects can be seen with the unaided eye.

T H E P R O P E RT I E S O F L I G H T WAV E S 15.2
Photo 15.1 Light is a form of energy that propagates (travels) through empty space. The propagation of
Diffraction of light through a razor this energy does not require a medium, as proven by light energy from the Sun being able to
blade the diffraction of light occurs
around the edges of objects and reach us here on Earth where it can be converted to other forms such as heat used in solar
through small apertures. hot water systems, or to electrical energy used by solar powered cars to race across the
Northern Territory.
Several of those properties of water waves investigated in Chapter 14 can be applied to
light and observed in the laboratory but this requires detailed observation as the wavelength
of visible light waves ranges from 4 107 m to 7 107 m. These waves are much too small
to be seen with the unaided eye.
Light waves or light rays can, like water waves, be reflected and refracted. This can very
easily be seen in the laboratory using a laser or light boxes. However, these properties are not
exclusive to wave characteristics and will be discussed in Chapters 17 and 18, where physical
optics, such as the uses of mirrors, prisms, and lenses, are investigated.
In this chapter we will investigate the properties of light with respect to two distinct
wave characteristics diffraction and interference. If light has wave characteristics then
the diffraction and interference of light waves should be observable.
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT 15.3

Photo 15.2 Recall that diffraction is the bending of waves as they pass through an aperture or around the
The interference pattern produced by edge of an object in their path. This bending of waves is more noticeable if the wavelength
the diffraction of white light through a of the waves is comparable to the size of the aperture. Also, if an object is placed in the path
narrow slit.
of the waves a shadow is produced if the object is of the same size as the wavelength.
(Revise Section 14.4.) Can this effect be observed with light? Remember, to observe this
effect the slit or the object in front of the waves has to be of the same size as the wavelength
of the waves, and light waves have very short wavelengths. However, this effect can be
observed! Light does bend around the edges of objects to produce diffraction fringes. Objects
seem to be blurred at the edges when light shone on them is focused on a screen. Photo 15.1
shows the diffraction fringes produced by white light passing the edges of a razor blade. The
edges of the blade appear blurred and dark bands appear in the small apertures in the blade.
Diffraction of light can also be produced when light passes through a very narrow slit.
Photo 15.3 Photo 15.2 shows the diffraction pattern produced on a screen when white light passes
The diffraction pattern produced by a
single slit using monochromatic (red) through a very narrow slit.
light from a laser.
Activity 15.1 FINGER FRINGES

1 Place your index and middle fingers very close together.
2 Put these fingers up close to one eye, close the other and look at a distant light.
3 Slowly start to separate these fingers and you will notice that black lines appear
between your thinly separated two fingers. These are diffraction fringes.
You may have noticed at night in rainy weather how scratches on a cars windscreen
produce long shafts of light, sometimes with black bands across them. This too is diffraction.
This pattern can be seen much more clearly if a laser and a commercially prepared
narrow slit are used.
If different colours of light are used the pattern changes. If red light is used the pattern
spreads out more than when blue light is used. Recall the diffraction of water waves. The
larger the wavelength compared with the slit, the more the pattern spreads out and is notice-
able. This would suggest that the wavelength of red light is larger than that of blue light. The
reason these diffraction bands occur will be analysed in Section 15.5.
L i g h t A Wa v e ? 321
15.4 INTERFERENCE
One of the earliest reasons for suggesting that light did not behave like a wave and did
not have wave characteristics was that it did not produce interference patterns normally
associated with the interaction of waves from two sources.
Can you suggest why? Remember, for a stabilised pattern to be produced the two sources
have to continuously generate waves in phase (coherent). Therefore they would have to have
the same frequency. Also, for a reasonable pattern with a number of widely separated nodal
lines to be produced requires the separation of the two sources to be small compared with
the wavelength of the waves. (Refer to Figures 14.18 and 14.19.) Can you describe how an
experiment could be designed for the interference of light to be observed?
Thomas Young (17731829), a brilliant English academic, made a place for himself in
history with his investigations into the nature of light. Young studied medicine at university
and later practised in London. He was always interested in sight and made large contributions
to the understanding of the eye and eye defects, but his name is remembered in physics for
his investigations into how light propagates.
Up to the nineteenth century, Sir Isaac Newtons reputation was enough to uphold the
belief within the scientific community in the corpuscular theory of light developed 100 years
earlier. Newton had suggested, with explanation, that light travelled as particles (corpuscles).
This will be discussed more fully in Chapter 29, Quantum Physics.
Young raised the old debate on whether light travelled as waves or as particles in a paper,
Respecting Sound and Light, published in 1800. His experimental work with light produced
supporting evidence to suggest that light had wave properties. In 1801 Young proved
the interference of light. In 1803 he gave a demonstration of the interference of light at a
lecture called Experiments and Calculations Relative to Physical Optics. The constructional
design of his experiment allowed interference fringes to be produced, something that had not
been done previously.
pin holes
Figure 15.2
interference The set-up used by Young to
fringes produce interference of light
waves.
S P1
P2
incident
light
barrier barrier screen
To understand how this was done refer to Figure 15.2. Light from a source was directed
onto an opaque sheet with a single pinhole. Light passed through this hole and was incident
on two more pinholes, which were very close together, in another barrier. Light from these
two pinholes was incident on a screen placed at a long distance from the barrier. Fringes as
shown in Figure 15.3 appeared on the screen. These fringes disappeared when one of the pin-
holes was covered up this is an indication that the phenomenon was the result of light
from the two pinholes interfering.
Figure 15.3
The interference pattern produced
by light incident on a pair of
closely spaced slits.

Young suggested, and demonstrated using Huygenss principle, that each pinhole acted
like a point source of light, producing circular waves that radiated outward. The intersecting
crests and crests, troughs and troughs, produced coloured fringes, and intersecting crests and
troughs produced dark fringes. The interference pattern he drew resembled that of water
waves. Again, it was Youngs unique constructional design of the experiment that allowed
these fringes to appear and remain stable in the one place. Remember, to obtain a stable
pattern the sources of the waves have to be continually in phase, that is, producing crests at
the same time. This was the problem that previous exponents of the wave theory of light did
not appreciate. Light is produced from the atoms of the light source, and since there are many
atoms in the source and they do not produce light waves at the same time, we never have two
light waves that are coherent (in phase and of the same frequency). Also, interference is
most noticeable when the two sources are close together compared with the wavelength of
the waves.
A c t i v i t y 1 5 . 2 Y O U N G S E X P E R I M E N TA L D E S I G N
Discuss how Young overcame the above difficulties.
By using a barrier with a single pinhole as the source of light, light that arrived at the
second barrier with the two pinholes was essentially from the one source. Therefore crests
arrived at the two pinholes at the same time. This made the light through these pinhole
sources in phase and of the same frequency. The pinholes were also very close together.
The similarity between the pattern drawn by Young and the pattern produced by water
waves from two sources added experimental evidence to the suggestion of the wave nature of
light.
Figure 15.4
The interference of light waves. The
intersection of crests and crests,
troughs and troughs etc. produces a source 1 nodal line
pattern similar to that of two-source
interference of water waves.
antinodal line
source 2 nodal line
Today Youngs pattern is a great deal easier to produce in the laboratory. We use a laser,
as the light produced by it is monochromatic (of one wavelength) and coherent. Using a
Photo 15.4 monochromatic light source produces fringes of the one colour (see Photo 15.4) and the
The interference pattern produced by pattern is not complicated by different colours overlapping.
monochromatic light (red) through a
pair of thinly separated slits.
Activity 15.3 INTERFERENCE FRINGES

1 Shine a laser on a screen placed at the front of the room.
2 Place a prepared two-slit slide over the front of the laser making sure that the
two slits are in front of the light.
3 Observe and draw the pattern produced on the screen.
4 What happens to the pattern on the screen if slides with different slit
separations are used?
Mathematically, the relationship that exists between the positions of the fringes on the
screen and the slit separations is similar to that found for water waves (Figure 15.5).
Waves from S are arriving at S1 and S2 in phase. These then act as two coherent sources
of light.
Note: the distance between the two sources S1 and S2 is very small compared with the
distance to the screen.
Figure 15.5
A schematic diagram of Youngs
S1 L P first-order set-up used to explain the
L nodal line positioning of the first-order
x node at P (not drawn to scale).
A
S d central
L O maximum
light B
S2
source 1
2
Lets look at a point P, a point on the first nodal line.

As already explained in Chapter 14, the path difference for all points on the first nodal
line is (n 2). Therefore S2P S1P = (n 21), or, since n = 1, S2P S1P = 21 .
1
If we draw a line from S1 to the line S2P to meet S2P at B so that S1P = BP, then
S2B = 21 .
Since d, the distance between the slits, is very much smaller than L, the distance to the
screen, the lines from S1 to point P and S2 to point P are approximately parallel and therefore
S1B is approximately perpendicular to S2P.
Activity 15.4 THE INTERFERENCE ASSUMPTION

Just to make it clear in your mind that the above is a reasonable assumption:
1 Place two dots 1 mm apart on one side of your page and draw lines from these
dots to another point on the opposite side of your page. You get the idea! These
lines are close to being parallel.
2 Now if you could do this again making the dots 0.10 mm apart and draw lines
from these dots to a point 3.0 m away what would you find?
3 Can you consider that the rays of light from the Sun are parallel? Explain.
In Figure 15.5 S1S2B is similar to APO, therefore angle S2S1B = angle OAP, which we
will call .
From triangle S1S2B:
sin = S2B
S1S2
1
= 2
d
From triangle APO:
x
sin =
L
(Note: L is approximately equal to AP since AO is very large and x is very small, as seen in
Activity 4.)

Therefore:

1
Explain why a pair of car
sin = 2
= x
headlights does not produce an d L
interference pattern. Justify
If P is a point on the second nodal line, S2B will be 12 , then:
1
your answer mathematically,
stating what assumptions you
have made about the data.
sin = 1 2 = x
1
d L
In general, for a point on the nth nodal line,
1
sin = (n 2 ) = x
d L
If P was a point on the first antinodal line then the path difference S1B = 1. (Recall that
the path difference for points on the nth antinodal line = n.)
Then, in S1S2B:
1
sin =
d
For a point on the second antinodal line:
2
sin =
d
In general, for all points on the nth antinodal line:
n x
sin = =
d L
where n is the order of the fringe, n = 1, 2, 3, . . .; is the wavelength of the light used in
metres; x is the distance from the central maximum in metres; L is the distance from the slits
to the screen in metres; d is the distance between the slits in metres.
Using these equations Young was able to determine the wavelength for each colour of
visible light. Young also used the principle of interference of light waves to explain the
coloured pattern produced by reflected light from soap bubbles and thin films. (This will be
explained in Section 15.6.)
Example
Monochromatic light from a laser was shone on to a pair of parallel slits 0.20 mm apart.
The interference pattern produced was observed on a screen placed at the other end of the
laboratory 3.0 m from the laser. It was observed that the first-order bright fringe was 9.0 mm
from the central maximum.
(a) Draw a labelled diagram showing the set-up necessary to obtain these results.
(b) Determine the wavelength of the light used.
(c) Determine the distance to the third-order dark fringe.
(d) Determine the thickness of the central maximum.
Solution
screen
first-order Figure 15.6
bright fringe The answer to the example
laser
problem (previous page).
light 9.0 mm
3m
0.2 mm
central
maximum
(b)
sin = n = x
d L
1 = x
d L
1 = 9.0 103
2 104 3.0
= 6.0 10 7 m
= 600 nm
(c) Destructive interference
1
sin = (n 2 ) = x
d L
(3 21 ) = x
2 104 3.0
x = 2.4 10 2 m
(d) The thickness of the central maximum is the distance from the first nodal line on
one side to the first nodal line on the other. That is, it is two times the distance
from the middle of the central maximum to the first nodal line.
(n 21)
sin = = x
d L
(1 ) 640 109 x
=
2 104 3.0
x = 510 10 5 m
= 5.1 mm
Therefore the thickness of the central maximum = 2 5.1 = 10.2 mm.
Questions
1 Monochromatic light of wavelength 580 nm is incident on a pair of slits 0.10 mm
apart. An interference pattern is observed on a screen 2.8 m from the slits.
(a) What is the distance of the second-order dark fringe from the central maximum?
(b) Determine the distance from the central maximum to the fourth-order
bright fringe.
(c) Determine the thickness of the central maximum.
2 Monochromatic light was shone on a pair of slits separated by a distance of
0.15 mm. The third-order dark fringe appeared 2.1 cm from the centre of the
central maximum on a screen placed 1.8 m from the source. Determine the
wavelength of the light used.

3 Blue light of wavelength 4.4 107 m was shone on a pair of slits that were
separated by a distance of 0.20 mm. The resulting interference pattern was
observed on a screen 2.4 m from the source.
(a) Determine the distance from the central maximum of the first-order and
second-order bright fringes.
(b) If red light of wavelength 6.6 107 m was used instead of the blue light
where would the first-order and second-order bright fringes now appear?
(c) Draw the fringes from part (a) and (b) showing their relative positions.
(Use red and blue biros.)
(d) What would happen to the pattern obtained if the distance between the
slits was doubled?
(e) Express the wavelength of the red and blue light in nanometres.
SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION 15.5

Before Youngs interference experiment rekindled the debate on the nature of light, an
Italian Jesuit priest, Francesco Grimaldi (161863), demonstrated diffraction of light.
He demonstrated, through a series of experiments in his monastery laboratory, that light
can bend around objects. When objects were illuminated with narrow beams of light, bright
lines appeared inside the shadow of objects where sharp shadows were expected. This is
difficult to observe with normal sunlight as white light is made of a mixture of colours
(polychromatic). However, it is more easily observed if monochromatic light is used. Grimaldi
called this phenomenon diffraction (from the Latin fragere = to break).
Activity 15.5 SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION

Place a single slit in front of a laser and observe the pattern produced on a screen.
A pattern similar to the earlier photo in Section 15.3 (p. 321) should be observed.
The pattern produced, even though similar to a double-slit interference pattern, has a
number of differences:
The bright bands are not regularly spaced.
The central bright band is much wider than the others.
The central bright band is much brighter than the next one.
The brightness of each band decreases from the central maximum.
It was not until 1819 when a French engineer Augustine Fresnel (17881827), using his
mathematical abilities, together with Huygenss wavefront principle, Youngs interference
explanation, and a relatively new mathematics (calculus), explained these observations.
Figure 15.7
For single-slit diffraction the slit is
P first-order
divided into Fresnel zones to help to A nodal line
1
explain the interference pattern. 2
3
4
5
w 6 central
1
2 1 maximum
3
4 2
5
6
C 1
screen
Fresnel used these tools to explain, for example, how the first dark fringe was produced
(Figure 15.7). He divided the slit into two regions, known as Fresnel zones. He then paired
up six points in the two zones, 1 and 1, 2 and 2 etc. Since the slit was very small, all of
these 12 points were on the same wavefront arriving at the slit and therefore in phase. These
12 points then acted as point sources of secondary wavelets (Huygenss principle).
Now let us consider pairs of points within the slit. Point 1 and 1 can be considered as
small point sources of wavelets that are in phase, therefore as the path difference 1P 1P
is 21 waves arriving at P from these two points destructively interfere, producing a dark spot.
Similarly 2P 2P = 21 , and 3P 3P = 2 . Light from these pairs of points destructively
1
interferes, producing the first-order dark fringe at P.

Yes, you may say, but there is an infinite number of points between C and A and we could
have paired up different points. This is true, which is why Fresnel needed the use of calculus
to do a thorough mathematical interpretation of what was going on. However, the above
analysis is enough for a reasonable understanding of how a dark fringe appears at point P,
when the distance from C to P is 1 further than from A to P.
Take another example (Figure 15.8) where we have a first-order bright fringe and
DP AP = 121 .
Figure 15.8
1 For the first-order bright fringe the
P first-order
2 slit is divided into three Fresnel
bright fringe 1
A zones with 2 path difference
1
2 between the top and bottom of
B each zone.
1
2 central
C maximum
1
D
11
2
We now divide the slit into three Fresnel zones (A to B, B to C, C to D), the bottom of
each zone to point P being 21 further than the top of the zone to point P. We again pair up
six points within the zones.
Notice again that 1P 1P = 21 and 2P 2P = 21 etc., which makes wavelets produced
in these two Fresnel zones, AB and BC, destructively interfere. However, light from the
bottom third of the slit does not interfere with other parts of the slit, thus producing light at
point P but only one-third as bright as the central region where light from the entire slit
strikes.
Again you may say this only occurs because of the selective choice of points, but this is
only to aid in the explanation. With a much more thorough mathematical interpretation the
results would be the same a bright fringe occurs at P, which is one-third as intense as the
central maximum.
A c t i v i t y 1 5 . 6 F U RT H E R S I N G L E - S L I T
I N T E R F E R E N C E I N V E S T I G AT I O N S
1 It would be a very worthwhile activity to carry out the above procedure to
analyse:
(a) the second-order dark fringe (divide the slit into four zones);
(b) the second-order bright fringe.
2 What do you notice about the intensity of the second-order bright fringe?
Using the same assumptions as for double-slit interference we can obtain a mathematical
relationship, similar to that of two-slit interference, between the positions of the fringes, the
slit width, w, and the wavelength of the light used (Figure 15.9).

Figure 15.9 L
P first-order
The first-order dark fringe is dark fringe
produced when the slit is divided y
into two Fresnel zones and the
path difference between the top

w L
and the bottom of the slit is 1. central
maximum
For destructive interference dark fringes:
1 y
sin = =
w L
y
sin = 2 =
w L
n y
sin = = for the nth-order dark fringe.
w L
For constructive interference bright fringes:
sin = 1 2 =
1
y
w L
sin = 2 2 =
1
y
w L
1
y
sin = (n + 2 ) = for the nth-order bright fringe.
w L
Notice the difference between these equations and those obtained for two-slit inter-
ference. Two-slit destructive interference occurred when the path difference was an odd
number of half wavelengths ( 2 , 121 , . . .) and constructive interference occurred when there
1
was an even number of half wavelengths (1, 2 . . .). For single slits it is the opposite.
The intensity pattern is also worthy of note: for two-slit interference the intensity of each
bright band was fairly constant, producing an intensity pattern shown in Figure 15.10. The
bands were also equally spaced, while for the single slit the central maximum is twice as wide
and the intensity falls off as the band number increases. (Refer to Figure 15.11.) As an aid to
your understanding, you should make a table setting out conditions for constructive and
destructive interference from single and double slits.
intensity
Figure 15.10 pattern
The intensity pattern produced
by a pair of slits is equally 1st-order
spaced and the maximums are bright band
of about equal intensity.
central
S2 maximum
source
S intensity
S1 1st-order
dark band
barrier
screen
distance
from centre
intensity Figure 15.11

The intensity pattern produced
pattern
by a single slit.
source
S
intensity
central maximum
1st-order dark band
barrier
1st-order light band
screen
distance
from centre
Fresnels explanation supported the experimental evidence of Grimaldi.

Example
Monochromatic light of wavelength 5.2 107 m is shone onto a single slit of width 0.10 mm.
This produces an interference pattern on a screen 3.0 m from the slit. Find the distance from
the centre of the central maximum to the first-order bright fringe.
Solution
(n + 21 ) y
sin = =
w L
n = 1, then 1 21 y
=
w L
1 21 5.2 107 m = y
0.10 103 3.0
y = 2.3 10 2 m
y = 2.3 cm
Questions
4 Find the width of the central maximum when light of wavelength 520 nm is
shone on a single slit of width 0.050 mm and the interference pattern is
observed on a screen 2.8 m from the slit.
5 Monochromatic light of 585 nm is shone on a slit of width 8.0 102 mm and the
interference pattern is produced on a screen 1.8 m from the source.
(a) Find the distance from the centre of the pattern to the first-order dark
fringe.
(b) Find the distance to the second-order dark fringe.
(c) What is the width of the central maximum?
(d) What is the width of the first-order bright fringe?
(e) What do you notice about the width of the central maximum and the other
bright fringes?
6 A heliumneon (HeNe) laser produces light of wavelength 632.8 nm. A single
slit of unknown width was placed in front of the laser and the resulting pattern
observed on a screen 2.8 m from the slit. The distance from the middle of the
central maximum to the first dark band was 8.8 mm. How wide was the slit?

Figure 15.12
The diffraction produced by a Resolving power of optical instruments
single circular aperture consists of
concentric light and dark bands. The interference and diffraction effects have consequences for the development of optical
instruments. The diffraction pattern produced by light shone through a circular aperture con-
sists of a circular bright centre with circular bright and dark bands, as shown in Figure 15.12.
This diffraction changes with the size of the aperture. If the aperture increases in size
the width of the central maximum and the size of the diffraction pattern decrease. The reverse
is also true. For light bands:
1 y
sin = (n 2 ) =
w L
If w increases then y decreases.

Figure 15.13 This has consequences for optical instruments. If a telescope is used to observe light
The diffraction patterns merge
from stars in the sky, the pattern observed through the lens, a circular aperture, will consist
as the objects are moved
closer, making resolution poor. of a central light spot with an alternating dark and bright band diffraction pattern. If two
stars slightly separated in the sky are observed, overlapping diffraction patterns will be seen.
If the sources of light move closer together the diffraction fringes confuse viewing of the
sources. Eventually you may not be able to identify the two separate sources as the bright
central maxima merge.
The resolving power of an instrument is the angular separation of the sources, which
enables you to tell you are viewing two sources.
clearly resolved objects This is given by the following formula, known as the Rayleigh Criterion.

= 2.5 10 5
d
where is the angle subtended between the sources measured in seconds of arc; is the
wavelength of the light used in metres; d is the diameter of the aperture in metres.
clearly resolved objects
Example
What is the resolving power of the Hubble space telescope, which has an aperture of 1.8 m,
when viewing two sources of red light of wavelength 650 nm?
Solution
just resolved objects
= 2.5 10 5
d
= 2.5 10 5 650 10
9
1.8
= 0.090 seconds of arc
Similar effects are produced when viewing two specimens using microscopes. If blue light
is used to illuminate the specimens better resolving power is obtained.
Questions
7 Find the resolving power of a microscope whose objective lens is 0.50 cm in
diameter (a) when blue light of 450 nm is used to illuminate the two sources;
(b) when red light of 650 nm is used to illuminate the two sources. (c) Which
colour of light would be best used to distinguish between two closely spaced
specimens?
Diffraction gratings
A diffraction grating consists of a block of glass with many grooves cut into it by a diamond
lathe. These grooves are very close together and, once cut, become opaque. Therefore the
block of glass acts like many double slits. Typically these gratings have thousands of grooves
per centimetre, which makes the distance between the slits very small. For example, if there
1
are 10 000 grooves per centimetre then the distance between each pair of slits will be 10 000
or 104 cm.
This results in interference patterns being very spread out when incident on a screen.
Example
If light of 600 nm was shone on the above diffraction grating and the interference pattern
was produced on a screen 2.0 m from the grating, what would be the distance from the
central maximum to the first maximum?
Solution
sin = n = x
d L
1 600 109 x
=
1 106 2
x = 1200 10 3 m Photo 15.5
x = 1.2 m The colourful interferences effects
produced by white light reflecting
from soap bubbles (see also inside
This is a large distance compared with those distances obtained in previous double-slit back cover).
problems.
Questions
8 Yellow light of 590 nm is shone on a diffraction grating that contains 10 000 lines
per cm and the pattern is produced on a screen 2.2 m from the grating.
(a) What is the distance from the central maximum to the second-order bright
fringe?
(b) What is the distance from the central maximum to the third-order bright fringe?
9 Violet light of 400 nm is shone on a diffraction grating that has 5000 lines per cm.
(a) What is the angular deviation of the second-order bright fringe?
(b) What is the angular deviation of the third-order bright fringe?
(c) What will be the order of the last bright spot that will be seen for this
set-up? Explain why this will occur.
15.6 THIN FILMS

Very spectacular colourful interference effects may be observed when a light wave is
reflected from a thin film, such as oil floating on water, or a soap bubble, as shown in
Photo 15.5 (see also colour section).
A c t i v i t y 1 5 . 7 S OA P B U B B L E S
Dip a loop of wire into some washing-up detergent. Pull it out and gently blow into the
loop to make soap bubbles. Observe the colours of light produced by light reflecting from
the bubble.
To explain mathematically how this occurs we will use an example of a thin film of
water on a piece of glass. When a light wave strikes the upper surface of the water (see

Figure 15.14 Figure 15.14) it will set up a multitude of reflected waves due to the reflection from the upper
Interference effects occur when light surface, the reflection from the lower surface, and multiple zigzags between the surfaces. In
reflects from two surfaces of a film.
Figure 15.14, only the first two reflections are shown. These are the most important and are
Rays A and B can constructively or
destructively interfere. the strongest as other light will be absorbed.
To find the conditions for constructive and destructive interference between these two
A waves, let us make a simplifying assumption that the incident wave is nearly perpendicular
incident to the surface. The two most intense waves are those that suffer only one reflection: the wave
ray that reflects from the upper surface (wave A) and the wave that reflects on the lower
B
phase air
change surface (wave B). Now for a rhetorical question: under what condition will these two waves
water
of 12 d constructively interfere in the air above the film?
Obviously, the wave that reflects from the bottom surface has to travel further than the
glass
wave reflected from the top surface. If the thickness of the film is d, then the path differ-
ence is equal to 2d. Provided that this distance is equal to one, two, three, etc. wavelengths,
1
phase change of 2 the wave reflected from the upper surface will meet crest to crest with the wave from the
lower surface. They will be in phase and will constructively interfere be bright; or have a
maximum amplitude. Note, however, that both waves are striking a fixed boundary, that is,
a boundary where the wave strikes a more dense medium than the one it is travelling in. In
this case both waves will be reflected upside-down and will undergo a half wavelength
1 1
( 2 ) phase change. Wave A then is 2 out of phase with the incident wave and, if the film
is 2 thick, wave B will be one-and-a-half wavelengths ( 2 ) out of phase with the incident
1 3
wave one wavelength due to the path difference and 2 due to phase change on reflection.
1
Hence, waves A and B will be in phase with each other and constructively interfere. If the
1 1 1
film was 4 thick, the path difference would be 2 and waves A and B would be 2 out of
phase B would be 1 out of phase (or in phase) with the incident wave while A would be
2 out of phase with the incident wave. Therefore A and B would destructively interfere,
1
producing a dark region.

There are many situations that can be explained using interference of waves. The expla-
nation depends on the optical density (refractive index) of the film and the bounding media.
The following are a few examples.
1 A film bounded on one side by a medium of lower optical density and on the other side
by a medium of higher optical density Examples are:
a water film on glass (airwaterglass)
an oil film on water (airoilwater)
a magnesium fluoride (MgF2) coating on a glass lens (airMgF2glass). (Refer to
Figure 15.14.)
Table 15.1 is a summary of the interference effects of various thicknesses of the film.
Ta b l e 1 5 . 1
THICKNESS OF FILM ( d )
4 4
0 1 2 3
4 4
Path difference due to distance 0
2
1
2
2
2
3
2

travelled (2d)
Phase difference due to reflection 0 0 0 0
Sum = total phase difference 0 1
2
3

2 2 2
between A and B
Constructive (C) or destructive (D) C D C D
interference
1
Summary: Destructive interference occurs at odd 4 thicknesses.
Formulae: For destructive interference: 2d = (m + 21 ), where m = 0, 1, 2, . . .
For constructive interference: 2d = m, where m = 0, 1, 2, . . .
2 A film bounded on both sides by media of lower density or by media of higher density Figure 15.15
Examples are: The different effects depend on
the medium bounding the film.
Type A A lowhighlow density distribution; for example, a water film or soap This is a lowhighlow optical
film in air (airsoapair) (Figure 15.15). density situation.
Since the waves are reflected from a lower density material at X there will be no phase
change, but wave A will still undergo a 2 phase change at Y.
1
incident
soap air ray
Table 15.2 is a summary of the resulting interference that occurs for various film y
phase change
thicknesses. air x on reflection
Ta b l e 1 5 . 2 no phase
change on
A
reflection B
THICKNESS OF FILM ( d )
d
4 4
0 1 2 3
4 4
Path difference due to distance 0
2
1
2
2
2
3
2

travelled (2d)
Phase difference due to reflection 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2
Sum = total phase difference 1
2
3
4

2 2 2 2
between A and B
Constructive (C) or destructive (D) D C D C
interference
Summary: Destructive interference occurs at even 4 thicknesses.

1
Formulae: For destructive interference: 2d = m, where m = 0, 1, 2, . . .

For constructive interference: 2d = (m + 21 ), where m = 0, 1, 2, . . .
Type B A highlowhigh distribution; for example, an air film between glass
slabs (glassairglass) (Figure 15.16).
A Figure 15.16
B This is a highlowhigh optical
incident density situation.
ray air
glass
d air
glass
no phase air
change on phase change
reflection on reflection
Note: as one of the waves undergoes a phase change and the other does not, this situa-
tion is similar to that of 2: Type A, and the same table can be used.
A summary of the above situations is given in Table 15.3.
Ta b l e 1 5 . 3
SITUATION DESTRUCTIVE CONSTRUCTIVE
INTERFERENCE INTERFERENCE
LMH 2d = (m + 21 ) 2d = m
LML 2d = m 2d = (m + 21 )
HMH 2d = m 2d = (m + 21 )

Colours
The colours seen from oil slicks, Christmas beetles wings and soap bubbles arise from such
interference effects. Since the colours of light have different wavelengths the thickness of a
film may be 2 for one colour but it will not be 2 for all colours. Therefore constructive
1 1
interference will occur at different film thicknesses for each colour of light.
You can see that by analysing both the path difference between the two waves and the
phase changes on reflection, it can be determined whether the two waves will constructively
interfere (producing light) or destructively interfere (producing an absence of light). Differ-
ent portions of an oil or soap film usually have different thicknesses, and they therefore give
constructive interference for different wavelengths at different positions. This results in a
pattern of bright coloured bands or fringes.
Note: the symbol in the above explanations stands for the wavelength of the light in the
film and will be different from that in air as light travels more slowly in materials. Remember
the frequency does not change. The value of in the material can be calculated from the
wavelength in air by the formula:
a
film = n
afilm
where film = the wavelength of the light in the film; a = the wavelength of the light in air;
nafilm or just nfilm = the absolute refractive index of light going from air to the film. This will
be discussed more in Chapter 18.
Example 1
What is the smallest thickness of water film that would produce constructive interference
when viewed in reflected light of wavelength of 650 nm in air? (nawater = 1.33.)
Solution
The wavelength of the light in water:
a
w = n
aw
650
=
1.33
= 489 nm
1
For airwaterair constructive interference to occur 2d = (m + 2 ) (see the previous section)
then:
2d = (0 + 21 )489 nm
489
d = 0.5
2
d = 122 nm
Example 2
To reduce the reflection of light from a glass lens (n = 1.50), a coating of magnesium fluoride
is added (nMgF2 = 1.36). What minimum thickness should this film be to produce destructive
interference and remove as much reflection as possible? Consider the average wavelength of
light in air to be 520 nm.
Solution
a
MgF2 = n
aMgF2
= 520
1.36
= 382 nm
For this case (lowmediumhigh) we will have destructive interference at:
2d = (m + 21 )
1
d = (m + 2 )
2
= 1 382
2 2
= 95.6 nm
Questions
10 A soap film is 100 nm thick. What wavelength of light will be most strongly
reflected by this film; that is, what colour will it appear? (nsoap = 1.33.)
11 A film of kerosene 4500 angstroms thick floats on water. White light, a mixture
of all visible colours, is vertically incident on the film.
(a) Which of the wavelengths contained in the white light will give maximum Figure 15.17
intensity upon reflection? Newtons rings are produced by a
(b) Which will give minimum intensity? plano-convex lens resting on a
piece of glass.
(Note: 1 angstrom () = 1010 m, nkero = 1.2.)
12 The wall of a soap bubble floating in air has a thickness of 400 nm. If sunlight
strikes the wall perpendicularly, what colours in the reflected light will be
strongly enhanced as seen in air? The refractive index of the soap film is 1.35.
13 A thin oil slick of refractive index 1.3 floats on water. When a beam of white
light strikes this thin film vertically, the only colours enhanced in the reflected
beam seen in air are orangered (650 nm) and violet (430 nm). What is the
thickness of the oil slick?
Newtons rings
Interference effects can also arise in a narrow gap between a flat glass plate and a slightly Figure 15.18
The varying thickness of the film in the
curved glass plate. The convex surface of the curved glass will touch the plate at the centre case of a wedge produces light and dark
but leave a gradually widening gap as the distance from the centre increases. At the bright bands corresponding to the different
rings, the width of the gap will produce constructive interference of the reflected light. The thicknesses.
dark (destructive) rings are called Newtons rings.

incident
A monochromatic hair
B
Wedges light
X Y
air
glas
s
The same result as Newtons rings occurs if two thin glass slides are placed together with a air
1
hair between one end. However, this time the bands will be regularly spaced. 1
3
4
2
1
4
Interference can be used to measure the thickness of the hair. At position X where the air glass
gap is 21 thick we will observe destructive interference between rays A and B (refer to exam- X Y air
ple 2 type B) producing a dark fringe if a particular colour of light is used.
When the thickness is 43 thick at Y we will observe a light fringe. We would thus observe X
dark and light fringes regularly spaced between the apex of the slides and the hair.
n=0 n=1 n=2

Example
Two glass slides are separated by a human hair. When viewed from above, dark interference
bands are produced as a result of wedge interference. If the 50th dark band occurs above the
hair when red light of wavelength 650 nm is reflected from the glass slides, what is the thick-
ness of the hair?
Solution
As this is an example 2 type B problem (refer to thin films, section 15.6), destructive inter-
ference occurs when:
2d = m
2d = 50
d = 25 650 nm
d = 1.60 10 4 nm
Questions
14 The edge of a piece of paper is placed between the ends of two glass slides.
CD players will soon use a
blue-green laser of wavelength
The other ends of the slides are in contact. These slides are then illuminated
400 nm. How high (or deep) from above with red light of wavelength 700 nm and the interference pattern
will the pits be? produced by reflected light is observed. The 200th dark fringe is observed over
the edge of the page. What is the thickness of the paper?
15 Students viewing the interference properties of soap bubbles dipped a wire loop
into a soap solution and held it vertically for a few seconds. When this loop was
illuminated with blue light of wavelength 450 nm and reflected light viewed,
dark bands appeared. It was observed that the bottom of the loop contained the
50th blue band. How thick is the soap at the bottom of the loop of wire? Would
you expect a regular, evenly spaced pattern of blue and dark bands to appear?
Compact discs
The digital on/off process used in compact discs relies on the destructive interference
of reflected laser light. A CD player uses a galliumarsenide (GaAs) laser of wavelength
840 nm. The tiny pits in a CD are one-quarter of a wavelength deep so they produce a path
difference of 2 41 (21 ) compared with light that is reflected from the upper surface. (See
Figure 15.19.) Destructive interference occurs and no light returns to the pick-up photodiode.
This is read as off. When light strikes the surface where there is no pit, there is no phase
difference between reflected waves, hence the digital pulse is read as on. The subsequent
stream of digital on/off pulses is converted to the studio signal and then amplified to become
the output sound.
Further discussion of the principles of CDs and DVDs as part of modern sound technology
occurs in Chapter 16.10.
Figure 15.19 1
CD players and CD discs use 2 out of
no phase
phase
interference effects in the difference
OFF
replication of sound. ON
1
deep no pit
4
aluminium (210 nm)
coated
surface
15.7 E L E C T R O M A G N E T I C R A D I AT I O N
By the 1880s experimental evidence provided more support for the wave theory of light. In
1849 Armand Fizeau measured the speed of light in media other than air and showed that
light travelled more slowly in dense materials. This supported the wave theory of refraction
and opposed Newtons corpuscle or particle theory, which suggested that light particles
travelled faster in more dense materials. However, the nature of light waves was still not
understood.
A Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell (183179), explained the nature of light
waves based on electric and magnetic interactions, which is still the accepted theory today.
This explanation was built on Oersteds theories that electric current produced magnetic
fields, and Faradays experiments that showed that changing magnetic fields induced elec-
tromotive forces and electric fields. Maxwell suggested that a changing electric field would
result in a changing magnetic field, which in turn would produce a changing electric field
one inducing the other in a self-propagating process. He suggested the possibility of trans-
verse electromagnetic waves propagating through space as changing electric and magnetic
fields that are at right angles to each other, as shown in Figure 15.20. He developed general
mathematical equations for these electromagnetic waves. The experimental value for the
speed of light was found to be close to that predicted by his equations, suggesting that light
was in fact electromagnetic in origin.
E Figure 15.20
A diagrammatic representation of
an electromagnetic wave with the
changing electric
changing magnetic and electric
B field fields at right angles to each
other and to the direction of
propagation.
direction of
propagation
changing
magnetic field
In general terms Maxwell suggested that electromagnetic waves had the following
characteristics:
They consisted of changing electric and magnetic fields.
The electric and magnetic fields are at right angles to each other as well as to the
direction of propagation the waves are transverse in nature.
The speed of the waves is dependent on the electric and magnetic properties of the
material in which they are travelling. In air or a vacuum, the speed of light is 3 108 m s1.
In 1887 Heinrich Hertz (185394) produced experimental evidence to support Maxwells
explanation of the propagating electromagnetic fields. Using varying voltages, Hertz created
a spark across the terminal of a primary loop of wire. The spark or discharge was the result of
varying electric fields produced between the ends of the loop. Hertz was able to cause a spark
to be produced across the ends of a second detector loop of wire placed some distance from
the primary loop (Figure 15.21). This release of energy in the detector loop of wire suggested
that energy had been carried by waves from the primary to the secondary loop. Hertz spent a
great deal of time investigating the waves produced by the primary loop and discovered that
they had all the normal characteristics of waves. After being produced by accelerating and
decelerating charged particles the propagating waves travelled at a speed of 3 108 m s1 in
air and slowed down when they travelled through different media.

Figure 15.21 spark spark

A schematic representation of
Hertzs apparatus showing that
changing voltages in the primary
coil produce electromagnetic waves
that can be detected in a detector
loop of wire.
high varying primary loop detector loop

voltage source
The frequency of the waves was controlled by the frequency of the changing speeds of
the particles at the source. The frequency of generation of the waves in the source produced
different wave frequencies, wavelengths, and visible light colours. The wavelengths associated
with each colour of light are given in Table 15.4. (See Figure 15.22.) The relationship between
the frequency, wavelength and speed of these waves is the same for all waves and is given by
the general wave equation c = f.
Figure 15.22 wavelength (nm) yellow
The visible light spectrum.
750 700 650 600 550 500 450 400
indigo-
infrared red orange green blue violet ultraviolet
Stealth Bombers are invisible to 4.0 4.3 4.6 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.7 7.5
radar because they reflect the frequency ( 1014 Hz)
waves up and down rather than
back to the radar station.
How could you detect them with
Ta b l e 1 5 . 4 T H E R A N G E O F WAV E L E N G T H S O F VA R I O U S
radar, then? A good answer E L E C T R O M A G N E T I C WAV E S
could be worth millions.
COLOUR WAVELENGTH (nm)
Ultraviolet 200400
Indigoviolet 400420
Blue 420490
Green 490580
Yellow 580590
Orange 590650
Red 650700
Infrared 700
However, visible light is only a part of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges
from radio waves of frequencies 15 kHz to gamma rays of frequencies 1024 Hz, all of which
travel in air or a vacuum at a speed of 3 108 m s1.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM 15.8
You are listening to a radio
broadcast of a live orchestral Radio and television waves
concert in London 20 000 km
away. Would you hear it before
Radio waves make up one of the biggest groups of waves in the electromagnetic spectrum.
or after a person at the rear of They are produced by the oscillations (the acceleration and deceleration) of electrons. The
the concert hall 50 m away from uses of radio waves are widespread: they are used in radio and television broadcasting as well
the orchestra? (Sound travels at as for communications. AM radio waves have a very long wavelength of several hundred
about 330 m s1.) metres and therefore are easily diffracted around buildings. FM radio waves are much shorter
(several metres) and diffraction of these is noticeable as buildings are much larger than the
wavelengths. Therefore FM reception would be weaker on the side of the building not facing
the station. You may have noticed this difference as you drive through town. The good thing
about FM radio waves, though, is that they are of much higher energy than AM waves and can
penetrate into underground car parks better so you do not lose reception as easily.
UHF (ultra-high frequency, therefore short wavelength) TV wavelengths are only fractions
of a metre long and therefore are not diffracted by buildings. TV antennae have to point
towards the stations. TV waves, being very short, can also be reflected from objects; in
particular, aircraft passing overhead. This could result in waves arriving at your home both
directly from the station and reflected from the aircraft. Since this results in a path
difference, interference could result in distortion or pulsating images on your TV set when an
aircraft passes overhead. Reflection off nearby hills produces a weak delayed signal, which
results in ghosting.
low flying Figure 15.23
aircraft The interference of TV waves from the
TV transmitter
transmitter and those reflected from
low flying aircraft can cause distortion
on TV sets.
TV antenna
Short wave radio signals of about tens of metres long can be reflected from the iono-
sphere (a layer in the atmosphere). By bouncing these waves off the ionosphere messages can
be sent around the world.
ionosphere Figure 15.24
Short wave radio transmissions reflect
from the ionosphere thus being able
to be received around the world.
transmitter
receiver
Table 15.5 gives a summary of the variety of radio waves and their uses.
Ta b l e 1 5 . 5 T H E F R E Q U E N C Y A N D WAV E L E N G T H O F VA R I O U S
R A D I O WAV E S
TYPE OF WAVELENGTH FREQUENCY RANGE USE I N V E S T I G AT I N G
RADIO WAVE RANGE
Long waves 600 m 20 km 15 kHz 500 kHz communications You can hear popcorn popping
from the outside of a microwave
Medium waves 100 m 600 m 500 kHz 3 MHz AM radio
oven. If the sound can get out,
Short waves 10 m 100 m 3 MHz 30 MHz AM radio, communications
why cant the dangerous
VHF (very high 1 m 10 m 30 MHz 300 MHz FM radio
microwaves get out?
frequency)
UHF (ultra-high 0.1 m 1 m 300 MHz 3000 MHz television
frequency)

Photo 15.6
A microwave radar system. Microwaves and radar
Microwaves have shorter wavelengths than radio waves. Because of this they can penetrate
the ionosphere and can be reflected by smaller objects. They therefore have been used in
communication and radar systems. They can be sent to satellites, which retransmit them to
ground stations around the world.
Since they can be reflected by small objects they are used in radar systems. Radar was a
term coined by the British in the mid-1930s as an abbreviation of radio direction and rang-
ing. The possibility of using radio waves (wavelength 10 cm to 10 m) reflected back from air-
craft and other metal objects such as ships and submarines attracted much attention in
Britain, America, Germany and France in the 1930s. However, it was the pioneering work of
British government research physicist Professor Sir Robert Watson-Watt that led to its suc-
cessful deployment in the defence of Britains coastline. By March 1936, radar stations were
being erected all along the south coast, using 10 m wavelength radio waves to detect German
aircraft at distances of up to 100 km. It was found that the best reflections came from objects
approximately equal in size to the wavelength.
Although 10 m radar could detect large metal objects such as planes, ships and sub-
marines, it was useless for detecting submerged submarines where only the small schnorkel
(air intake) was above the surface. The invention in 1940 of the cavity magnetron (now used
in microwave ovens) changed all that. It could produce radar with a wavelength of 10 cm,
making objects as small as 10 cm visible from as much as 10 km away. In a strange twist of
fate, Watson-Watt was caught speeding in a police radar trap on a visit to the USA in 1954.
A radar system consists of a transmitter, an aerial, and a receiver. Pulses are transmitted
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E via the aerial, which rotates on its axis to scan the surroundings for reflected signals, which
are heard as an echo. The distance and direction of the objects reflecting the pulses can thus
A microwave oven doesnt heat be calculated.
evenly. Its hot in the centre,
Shorter microwaves of about 0.1 mm produce considerable heat. They do this by causing
cooler a bit further out and hot
the particles of matter they penetrate to vibrate faster, resulting in the matter heating up.
again near the edge. This is due
They are thus used in microwave ovens where they are especially suitable for vibrating water
to standing waves being
produced, and producing nodes
molecules in foods. You may have noticed that when food is cooked in a microwave oven the
and antinodes. If the frequency food itself gets very hot but the plate does not get nearly as hot as in a conventional oven.
of microwaves in an oven is
2.45 GHz, calculate the
wavelength in centimetres and
Infrared waves
then draw a wave diagram to Infrared waves have wavelengths between microwaves and visible light of approximately
show this uneven heating. 0.010 mm. These cannot be detected by the human eye but can be detected by photo-
transistors and special infrared-sensitive photographic film. All hot bodies emit infrared
radiation. Below 500C, bodies emit only infrared radiation; above 500C they emit some
visible light as well. (Infrared waves and heat effects have been discussed in Chapter 12.) The
infrared radiation heating effect is also used in infrared lamps to help overcome injury and to
heat and dry objects such as paint on cars during manufacture.
As well as those applications mentioned in Chapter 12 medical, military and satellite
detection applications infrared waves are also used in alarm systems. As infrared waves
cannot be seen, intruders do not notice when they break a beam of the waves and set off the
alarm. Self-opening doors of shops work on the same principle.
Ultraviolet waves
Ultraviolet (above violet) waves, or radiation, are those waves with shorter wavelengths than
those of visible light their wavelengths are between 100 nm and 400 nm. They are
produced by very hot bodies such as the Sun as well as by electrical discharges through gases.
Overdoses of UV radiation can cause sunburn, skin cancer and eye damage; however, luckily
for us, most of this radiation from the Sun is absorbed by the ozone layer in the upper atmos-
phere. (Refer to Chapter 32.)
UV radiation carries more energy than visible light and can cause electrons to be ejected
from metals when shone on them. Also, when it strikes some substances it causes the
substances to emit visible light in a process called fluorescence.
Ultraviolet light is also used to detect cracks in materials and to sterilise objects.
X-rays
X-rays are waves with even shorter wavelengths than ultraviolet waves. They have
wavelengths of approximately 1.0 nm. They are produced by firing high-speed electrons at a
metallic surface. The fast deceleration of these electrons produces X-rays. Because X-rays have
great penetrating power through matter and affect photographic film they are used to see
through objects. X-ray photographs are a useful tool in medicine. They are also used to detect
flaws in metallic structures and welds.
X-rays have high energy and are able to kill living cells. Because malignant cancerous
tumours are more susceptible to X-rays than normal cells, controlled doses are used to kill the
cancerous cells. Operators have to be careful not to give themselves too high a dose so they
wear monitors to register the doses they receive and use lead aprons for protection.
Gamma rays
Gamma rays, of wavelength 0.01 nm, have the shortest wavelength of all forms of electro-
magnetic radiation. Because they have such a short wavelength they are often not considered
as waves. Wave properties of gamma radiation cannot easily be observed or detected. They
are the most energetic and penetrating of all forms of electromagnetic radiation and require
a thick sheet of lead or a concrete wall to stop them. They are emitted from radioactive nuclei
this will be covered more fully in Chapter 28. They too are used to treat cancers and have
numerous other applications.
Table 15.6 summarises the types of electromagnetic waves, their uses, and detection
methods.
Ta b l e 1 5 . 6 T Y P E S , U S E S A N D M E T H O D S O F D E T E C T I O N O F E L E C T R O M A G N E T I C WAV E S
RADIO TV MICROWAVES INFRARED VISIBLE ULTRAVIOLET X-RAYS -RAYS
Wavelength 0.110 m 0.11 m 101103 m 103106 m 2 107 107109 m 1091012 m 1011 m
7 107 m
Use broadcasts TV ovens, scanning, sight flaw medicine, medicine,
broadcasts radar drying paint, detection, flaw power
treating sterilising detection stations
injuries, objects
alarm
systems
Source radio TV warm and hot objects, very hot X-ray radioactive
transmitters transmitters hot objects fluorescent objects tubes substances
substances
Detector aerial aerial skin, eyes, photographic photographic Geiger
with with TV thermometer, photographic film, skin film Muller
radio set thermistor film, LDR tube
Activity 15.8 RADIO PHYSICS

Predict and justify the outcome of the following, and then try them. (a) Tune a small
transistor radio in to a station and squat down with it in your lap (will the radio still
pick up the broadcast?) (b) Instead, just wrap the radio in alfoil. (c) Tune a radio
to a distant station at night and then turn it on in the morning without changing
stations. If any of your predictions were wrong, explain the result.

A c t i v i t y 1 5 . 9 M I C R OWAV E C O O K E RY F O R
PHYSICISTS
Ask your teacher to put the following into a microwave oven and to turn on high
for a few seconds (they are all pretty safe): (a) a small fluorescent bulb; (b) a neon pilot
light; (c) two alfoil squares just touching at their corners; (d) a 100 W incandescent
bulb; (e) some large squares of moist cobalt chloride paper (pink when wet, blue when
dry); (f) a grape that you have prepared beforehand cut it almost in half and peel it
backwards so that each half is connected by a thin skin bridge. This is really spectacular.
Dont do it at home; your mum wont be pleased.
P O L A R I S AT I O N 15.9
Electromagnetic waves, as suggested by Maxwell, are a type of transverse wave composed of
I N V E S T I G AT I N G oscillating electric and magnetic fields. These transverse waves have components of electric
and magnetic fields in all directions. When all components of the electric fields except for one
Have you ever wondered what
are blocked the wave is said to be plane polarised. It is usually the electric field vector that
happens when you shine a laser
defines the direction of polarisation.
through Polaroid? Is a laser
polarised and so none
A device that allows only one component of the electric field through is called a
gets through? If we had time polariser. An example may explain this more simply; if a slinky spring is threaded through
wed try it. a slit in a wall as shown in Figure 15.25 and shaken in all directions, only those pulses that
are in the same plane as the slit will get through; the rest will be blocked.
Figure 15.25 unpolarised

Polarisers allow only waves in wave
the plane of the polariser to
pass through.
plane polarised
wave
Polaroid is the brand name of synthetic materials that have these polarising properties.
They polarise light or allow light waves vibrating in one direction through. If a second piece
of polaroid called an analyser is placed after the polariser, as shown in Figure 15.26, it is
possible to block out all light from the source by rotating the analyser. If the plane of the
analyser and the polariser line up then light will be seen. However, if they are at right angles
no light will be transmitted through the analyser. Between these two extremes the amount of
light transmitted will vary depending on the angle between the planes of the polariser and
the analyser.
Figure 15.26
The angles between the unpolarised light
polariser and the analyser
determine the amount of light
that is transmitted.
P1 polarised light
polariser
P2 transmitted light
analyser
Activity 15.10 SUNGLASSES I N V E S T I G AT I N G
If you have an old pair of Polaroid sunglasses, pop the lenses out and place them together. The nematic crystals used in
When they are rotated as shown in Figure 15.27 the amount of light passing through liquid crystal displays (e.g. your
calculator) melt like all crystals.
will vary.
Put your calculator in the sun
1 Cut one of the lenses in half now you have three pieces. and watch the display go black.
At what temperature did this
2 Cross one pair so that they go black (Figure 15.27(a)).
happen?
3 Slide the third one in at an angle and note what happens (Figure 15.27(b)).
How on earth can this happen?
4 Try it in front and behind the crossed polarisers. What happens?
(a) (b)
Figure 15.27
For Activity 15.10.
Figure 15.28
Liquid crystal displays in calculators
and digital watches use polarising
filters. A voltage applied to the liquid
controls the amount of light reflected
back to the user.
room light
Po l a r o i d s u n g l a s s e s
When wearing Polaroid sunglasses, annoying reflections from horizontal surfaces, such as
shiny floors, wet roads, car bonnets, the ocean and the beach are eliminated. When sunlight polariser
reflects from these surfaces it becomes horizontally polarised because most of the other
components are scattered. Polaroid sunglasses have their polarising plane vertical so as to
block these reflections. liquid
crystal
Camera filters (turned OFF)
To reduce the brightness of light entering a camera, photographers sometimes use Polaroid
filters which have polarisers that can be rotated. Light intensity can be reduced by rotating analyser
one of the polarisers. By doing this instead of closing the aperture down, the depth of field
of the lens is not affected. The polarising filter is also used to reduce unwanted reflections light penetrates
from glass or water surfaces. (light grey) (mirror not shown)
L i q u i d c r y s t a l d i s p l ay
The sort of display used in calculators and digital watches uses two pieces of Polaroid that
are crossed. Room light passes through the top polariser, where it is then rotated through 90
by the liquid crystals before it strikes the bottom polariser. The bottom polariser is crossed
with respect to the top polariser but because the liquid crystals have rotated the light
through 90 the light passes through. Underneath the bottom layer is a mirror which reflects
the room light back to the user. (See Figure 15.28.) When a voltage is applied to the crystals
liquid
they stop rotating the light so it is blocked, and appears black. If you have a broken calcula- crystal
tor check that it has Polaroid and mirrors in it. (turned ON)
light blocked
black

Practice questions
*16 State two properties of waves that are considered to be strictly wave characteristics.
*17 State the important characteristics of Youngs experimental design that allowed
the interference fringes to be observed.
**18 Light from a red laser of wavelength 620 nm is shone on a pair of parallel slits
0.10 mm apart. The interference pattern produced is incident on a screen 2.8 m
from the slits.
(a) Calculate the distance from the central maximum to the first-order nodal
line in this pattern.
(b) Calculate the distance to the third-order antinodal line.
(c) What would happen to the pattern if the distance between the slits was
reduced?
(d) What would happen to the pattern if the slits and laser were moved toward the
screen?
(e) What would happen to the pattern if yellow light was used instead of red light?
**19 If Youngs experiment was used to produce an interference pattern with X-rays
(wavelength of 1.0 nm), what slit separation would be needed to make the
second antinode 2.0 mm from the central maximum on a screen placed 2.0 m
from the slits? (Is this feasible?)
*20 Green light of wavelength 510 nm is shone on a pair of slits placed 2.0 m from a
screen. The distance between the slits is 0.20 mm.
(a) What is the distance from the central maximum to the third antinodal line?
(b) What is the thickness of the central maximum?
*21 Students use a single slit to determine the wavelength of light produced by a
laser. Light from the laser is incident on a slit of 1.0 mm width, and the
interference pattern is observed on a screen 3.0 m from the laser. The first-order
dark band appears 2.0 mm from the middle of the central maximum. What is the
wavelength of light emitted by the laser?
*22 S1 and S2 are sources of VHF radio waves of wavelength 0.50 m. They are
Figure 15.29 connected to the same generator and remain in phase.
For question 22. (a) If a detector of this radiation is moved from P to Q as shown in Figure 15.29
y how far from P will the first minimum be detected?
(b) Why does the detector register a maximum of intensity when it is 1.5 m
from P?
*23 Blue light of wavelength 450 nm is incident on a pinhole of 2.0 104 m
diameter made in an opaque sheet and the resultant interference pattern is
produced on a screen 2.5 m from the pinhole.
(a) Describe the pattern produced on the screen.
P (b) What is the distance from the central maximum to the third bright line?
Q
S1 S2 (c) What is the diameter of the central maximum?
2m **24 A water film (n = 1.33) in air is 320 nm thick. It is illuminated by white light
at normal incidence. What colour of light occurs in the reflected interference
pattern produced above the film?
*25 A thin film of refractive index 1.5, and 4.0 105 cm thick, is surrounded by air
and illuminated by white light normal to its surface. What wavelengths within
the visible spectrum will be intensified in the reflected beam?
*26 Light of wavelength 680 nm in air illuminates at right angles two glass plates
12 cm long that touch at one end and are separated at the other end by a wire
of 0.048 mm diameter. How many bright fringes will appear over the 12 cm
length?
*27 (a) What is the speed in air of (i) red light of wavelength 620 nm;
(ii) blue light of wavelength 470 nm; (iii) X-rays of wavelength 1.0 nm?
(b) Find the frequency of each of the above electromagnetic waves.
(c) What would be the frequency of these rays in water?
*28 List several pieces of evidence that support the theory that light is a wave.
*29 A radio station transmits at a frequency of 105 MHz. Calculate the wavelength of
these radio waves.
*30 A ship using a microwave radar system to detect distant aircraft receives echoes
back 5.0 104 s after transmission of a radar pulse. Determine the distance to
the aircraft.
*31 Weather satellites use infra-red detectors rather than visible light detectors.
Explain the advantages of this.
**32 Microwaves can be used in the laboratory to show the interference of waves. The
microwaves are transmitted by a microwave transmitter and received by a
detector.
The microwave transmitter transmits on a frequency of 2.0 1010 Hz. It is Figure 15.30
For question 32.
found that the maximum intensities occur at points A, C, and E, while minimum
intensities occur at points D and B. The distance from A to D is found to be microwave
transmitter microwave
1.5 m while the distance from P to A is 3 m. (Refer to Figure 15.30.) receiver
slits
(a) Calculate the wavelength of the microwaves used.
YE
(b) What is the path difference from the two slits to point (i) D; (ii) C? D
C
P B
(c) Calculate the separation between the slits produced by the aluminium plates A
to produce this pattern.

*33 Which category of wave is used for the following: X
(a) reflecting from the ionosphere; aluminium
(b) communicating by retransmitting from satellites; voltage sheet
supply micro-
(c) producing heat for drying paint on cars; ammeter
(d) treating cancers;
(e) seeing objects;
(f) detecting cracks in welds;
(g) seeing internal structures;
(h) operating radar systems;
(i) causing skin cancers?
*34 A radio station is transmitting carrier waves of 5.0 m wavelength. Is this likely
to be an FM or an AM station?
*35 The categories of waves in the electromagnetic spectrum overlap. There is no
distinct division between, say, X-rays and gamma rays. However, they are
produced differently. Explain how they differ in their production.
**36 Figure 15.31 is a schematic diagram of Youngs double-slit experiment. Figure 15.31
(a) What are the distances (i) S1AS2A; (ii) S1BS2B; (iii) S1ES2E? For question 36.
(b) What kind of interference occurs at (i) D; (ii) A?

(c) If the distance from A to D is 4.0 mm, the distance to the screen is 90 cm S1
light
and the distance between the slits S1, S2 is 0.15 mm, find the wavelength of source
the light used. A
*37 Choose two AM and two FM radio stations. On what frequencies do they transmit? S
S2 B first-order
Calculate the wavelength of these radio waves. node
*38 The new generation of compact discs can fit over two hours of music and video C first-order
antinode
onto one disc but they need a much higher frequency laser to read the CD pits.
D second-
Why do you think this is? order node
E second-
order
antinode


***39 A parallel beam of light containing red light of wavelength 650 nm and orange
light of wavelength 580 nm is shone on a diffraction grating containing 1000
lines per centimetre. Calculate the angular deviation of these two wavelengths
in the second-order bright fringe.
***40 White light reflected at normal incidence from a soap film has, in the visible
spectrum, an interference maximum that occurs for light of 600 nm wavelength
and a minimum that occurs for light of 450 nm wavelength, with no minimums
between these wavelengths. If n = 1.33, what is the film thickness, assumed
uniform?
***41 Monochromatic light falls normally on a thin film of oil that covers a glass plate.
The wavelength of the source can be varied continuously. Complete destructive
interference of the reflected light is observed for wavelengths of 500 and 700 nm
and for no other wavelengths in between. If the index of refraction of the oil is
1.3 and that of glass is 1.5, find the thickness of the oil film.
***42 An oil tanker accidentally discharges oil onto the Great Barrier Reef. If the
thickness of the oil film produced on the water was 5.0 107 m what colour
would the film appear? (noil = 1.45.)
***43 An air wedge is made by placing a thin sheet of paper between the ends of a pair
of glass slides. Red light of 650 nm is shone at right angles onto the surface of
the slides. The bright bands in the interference pattern of reflected light are
observed to be 0.40 mm apart. If the paper is 5.0 cm from the point of contact
of the slides, what is the thickness of the paper?
***44 One method of measuring the thickness of a razor blade is by using double-slit
interference. Design an experiment that would enable you to do this.
(Hint: use two blades.)
**45 Answer true or false:
(a) Light is a mixture of particles and waves.
(b) Light waves and radio waves are not the same thing.
(c) Microwaves have an extremely short wavelength.
(d) The addition of all colours produces black.
(e) Light exists in the crest of a wave and darkness in the trough.
(f) Rays and wavefronts are the same thing.
(g) Photons are just neutral electrons.
CHAPTER 16
S o u n d , M u s i c a n d A u d i o Te c h n o l o g y
16.1 INTRODUCTION
What is sound? One frequently-played TV advertisement for a popular drink showed people
whistling and causing glasses and bottles to shatter. A measure of greatness of singers is that
they have the ability to shatter crystal glasses by reaching a certain high-pitched note. The
renowned opera singer Maria Callas (192377) was reputed to be able to do this.
Why does this happen? Does it happen or is it one of those exaggerated myths?
After completing this chapter you will be able to answer this question and others such as
these:
Can you hear space ships explode in space?
How is sound used by dentists, doctors, bats, the blind, and fishermen?
Why do you hear a siren differently as a police car comes toward you and goes away?
How does an understanding of this allow you to measure the speed of a cricket ball?
Why can you hear so well in the bush at night?
Do you know how insects can hear bats? Can any animal jam a bats sonar?
16.2 WHAT IS SOUND AND HOW IS IT PRODUCED?

In Chapter 13 we suggested that if a tuning fork is tapped and held beside another one of the
same frequency, the second fork also begins to vibrate. Sound waves also cause our ear drums
to vibrate and microphones to produce small alternating voltages.
Figure 16.1
matched tuning forks One vibrating tuning fork will
cause another close by to
vibrate.
resonance box
sound waves
resonance box
Sound is a form of energy one that travels from the source to the receiver by means
of waves. In Chapter 13 it was indicated that sound waves were longitudinal mechanical
waves waves that require a medium for transmission.

Activity 16.1 SOUND ENERGY

Research an area that supports the proposition that sound is a form of energy, and be
prepared to explain your evidence to the class.
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 2 S O U N D I N A VA C U U M
If your school possesses a vacuum pump, the following demonstration should indicate
that sound requires a medium for its propagation.
1 Place a ringing electric bell in a bell jar and extract the air from the jar using
the vacuum pump.
2 What do you notice as the amount of air in the jar is reduced?
3 Predict what you would notice if the air pressure was increased.
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 3 S O U N D V I B R AT I O N S
Part A
1 Place a metal ruler on a desk with about three-quarters of its length
overhanging the edge of the desk. Pull the overhanging end down and let it
vibrate.
2 What happens? What do you hear?
Photo 16.1 3 Place your ear on the desk and you will hear the sound with astonishing clarity.
Siren disc.
4 What do you notice when you rest the bone behind your ear on the desk?
5 As the ruler is vibrating move it in so less overhangs. What do you hear now?
6 What happens if you use a softer surface?
Part B
It is not easy to see a tuning fork vibrating but it can be felt. Touch the stem to your
lips, your teeth, your head. Touch the prongs on to the surface of water. What do
you notice?
It can easily be seen that the vibrations cause the sound. Music students in the class may
be able to tell you why guitars, flutes or trombones produce sound. Sound is produced by
something vibrating a string, a reed or an air column. The different sounds are produced
by the different frequencies of vibrations. This can be shown by tapping two tuning forks of
different frequencies. They produce different sounds due to the different rates of vibration
of the arms of the forks.
We speak and hear due to the vibration of membranes. The vocal cords in our throats
vibrate at different rates to produce sounds. The tension of the vocal cords controls the
Photo 16.2 rate of vibrations. The energy carried by the sound waves causes the ear drum to vibrate.
Savarts disc. These vibrations are transposed into discernible noises by the brain. When you get a throat
infection your vocal cords become inflamed and swollen. This gives you a husky voice.
Sound is a form of energy produced by the vibrations of objects and carried by
longitudinal mechanical waves.
A siren disc (see Photo 16.1) has concentric circles of holes in an aluminium disk. When
it is spun at high speed and air blown through the holes, the chopped jet of air produces a
sound wave.
Savarts toothed wheel can also be used to produce musical sounds. By holding a piece
of card against the spinning toothed wheel, different frequencies can be produced. The
number of teeth per wheel are in a set ratio and, when sounded at the right speed, produce
what music students call the notes of the major triad: C4, E4, G4, and C5.
S o u n d , M u s i c a n d A u d i o Te ch n o l o g y 349
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 4 WAV E M OT I O N
1 Mount a tiny mirror on one prong of a tuning fork held upright in a stand. Shine
a laser beam onto the mirror so that it reflects onto a wall. Set the tuning fork
vibrating and slowly rotate it back and forth.
2 What pattern appears on the wall?
16.3 P R O PA G AT I O N O F S O U N D WAV E S
Recall from Chapter 13 that sound waves are longitudinal waves producing compressions and
rarefactions of the air particles in the direction the wave propagates. Therefore without N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
air (in a vacuum) no sound can propagate. So do not believe those space movies in which
spaceships explode with a large noise. If you put your head underwater
while having a bath, you can
Would you be able to hear the explosion?
hear sounds from all over the
Would you be able to see it? house that you wouldnt
Then how does a Space Shuttle communicate with Earth? This is done by means of radio normally hear. Why is that?
waves a form of electromagnetic waves that do not require a medium for their propaga-
tion. Therefore sound can propagate in all media that have particles air, water, wood and
the ground. You may have seen Indian scouts in old Westerns fall to their knees and press
their ears to the ground to detect distant and unseen riders. They relied on the fact that
sound travels through the ground very well and doesnt get scattered as it does in the air.
Speed of sound
The more rigid the particles in a medium, the faster the sound will travel through it. This is
shown in Table 16.1.
Ta b l e 1 6 . 1 T H E S P E E D O F S O U N D I N VA R I O U S M E D I U M S
MEDIUM SPEED OF SOUND (m s 1 )
Air 342
Water 1410
Copper 3560
Aluminium 5100
In air, where the particles are loosely connected, the speed of sound is approximately N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
340 m s1. However, this varies with the atmospheric conditions such as temperature, humid-
In the Song of the White Horse
ity, and air movement. As air temperature rises, the speed of sound increases by about by David Belford, the lead
0.6 m s1 for each degree. At 0C sound travels at 331 m s1, whereas at 20C it travels at soprano is required to breathe in
331 + 20 0.6 = 343 m s1. helium to reach the extremely
As an orchestra warms up, the pitch of wind instruments becomes higher because the high top note.
speed of sound in air increases and this affects the frequency of the standing waves inside Question: if you released some
the instruments. String instruments, on the other hand, go lower in pitch because the fric- of the helium into the middle
tion of the fingers rubbing over the strings heats them up and causes them to lengthen. of the orchestra, what would
happen to the pitch of the
In other gases, the speed is different, as Table 16.1 shows. You may have seen people
following instruments: wind,
take a lung-full of helium gas from party balloons and when they speak they sound like brass, strings, percussion?
Donald Duck. The speed of sound in helium is about 965 m s1, which causes the resonant
frequency of the throat and mouth cavity to rise.

Range of hearing
The frequency and therefore wavelength of sound waves is controlled by the frequency of the
vibrating source. The human ear can detect frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz; however,
the ear does not respond in the same way to all frequencies. The ear is most sensitive to
frequencies of about 3000 Hz (Figure 16.2). Age also affects our hearing. As people age, they
find high frequencies more difficult to hear. At about 65 years old, the highest frequency
heard is about 5000 Hz. Human speech produces frequencies from 600 Hz to 4800 Hz.
Figure 16.2 threshold of pain
The graph shows that the
human ear does not respond 130
120
equally to all frequencies.
110
Some frequencies need to be
100
more intense to be heard.
Intensity level (dB)

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E 20
threshold of hearing
10
The air bladder of a fish serves 0
another purpose besides
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10 000 20 000
buoyancy: it enhances the fishs Frequency (Hz)
hearing. How does it do that?
Infrasound
Our ears are not the only detectors of sound. Other body organs can detect sound waves,
especially vibrations of low frequencies. For example, the intestines and stomach are suscep-
tible to low vibrations, with a maximum response at about 3 Hz. Your stomach wall actually
moves in and out in response to such vibrations (Figure 16.3). This property is used in cine-
mas to produce an effect called sensurround in which low frequencies are generated by banks
of large woofer speakers to make the effects of bomb blasts and earthquakes more realistic
as you feel the effect as well as hear it. Physicists call such low frequencies infrasound
(Latin infra = below) and while it may be safe under controlled conditions, infrasound can
also cause nausea and dizziness, such as in car sickness. Death can occur in extreme cases
when internal organs rub against each other and haemorrhage (rupture). Enjoy your movie.
Figure 16.3 8
the abdomen wall (cm)
The abdomen responds to low 7

frequencies. The abdominal 6
wall can move an incredible
Displacement of
6.5 cm in response to 5
frequencies of about 3 Hz. 4
3
2
1
The frequencies of insects wing 0
beats has been measured: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
butterfly 12 Hz, bumblebee Frequency of sound (Hz)
130 Hz, honeybee 225 Hz,
mosquito 600 Hz. Which can
you hear, and why? Spiders
Questions
know when an insect has been 1 Sound travels through media containing particles. Explain how this occurs.
caught in their web by the 2 People can not only hear sound travelling in materials, they can also feel the sound
vibrations emitted. Spiders will vibrations. Apart from the above situations can you think where this is used?
run to a 256 Hz tuning fork
3 Describe what is meant by the terms compression, and rarefaction.
held in their web, but not if you
4 Use Figure 16.3 to determine what range of frequencies is most suitable for
just stick your finger in it.
Dont you want to have a go?
sensurround speakers to produce.
16.4 P R O P E RT I E S O F S O U N D WAV E S
As sound is a wave, those properties common to all waves apply to sound. Sound waves can
be reflected, refracted, diffracted and can interfere. The wave equation v = f that you have
used for water waves and light waves also applies to sound waves.
The following are a few examples of where properties of sound waves are experienced
every day. You can probably think of many more.
Reflection
When you hear an echo you are hearing the reflected sound from a distant mountain, cliff or
wall. This is very noticeable when you shout in an empty room as there are no materials to
absorb the wave energy. Careful design and placement of curtains and furniture is essential
in concert halls to absorb sound and stop reflected waves interfering with sounds produced
by the artists. Theatre design and construction utilises computer simulations to show where
reflections will interfere and where absorbing materials are essential. Peoples bodies also
assist in absorbing sounds. Modern theatre acoustics now include designs that allow unoccu-
pied seats to retain the same sound-absorbing qualities as human beings, so that the sound
reinforcement is similar whether the theatre is full or empty.
Reflection of sound can be used to measure the speed of sound.
Activity 16.5 THE SPEED OF SOUND BY REFLECTION

Clap your hands hard (or hit a piece of wood with a mallet) at a distance from a wall in
an open area. When you hear the echo clap your hands again. Continue to do this until N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
10 echoes are heard. The speed of sound can be calculated by dividing the total distance Thunder from lightning refracts
the sound covered in the 10 trips by the time taken from the first clap till the last echo. upwards, and at distances
greater than 24 km you cant
1 How closely did your measurement match the stated value for the speed of sound?
hear it. Draw a diagram to
2 Discuss the sources of error in your measurement, and how the experiment could illustrate this phenomenon.
be improved.
Refraction
Have you ever wondered why it is easier to hear sound at night than in the day? It is particu-
larly noticeable in open spaces, where fewer reflections occur. This is due to the refraction of
sound, which results from the fact that the speed of sound changes with temperature
sound travels faster in warmer air. During the day the air directly above the ground is warm
whereas higher up it is cooler. Therefore sound waves, instead of propagating parallel to the
ground, are refracted upward. This refraction will not be an abrupt change but a gradual
change, as there is no distinct boundary between the warm and the cool air. At night the
ground is cooler than the air and the sound waves will be refracted downward. So during the
day sound waves are refracted upward away from observers while at night they are refracted
downward towards the observer. In the city this effect is not as noticeable due to reflections
from buildings.
Air movement can also cause the refraction of sound, as wind affects the motion of the
particles that are necessary for the propagation of the sound waves. (See Figure 16.4.)
wind
Figure 16.4
Air movement also causes the
refraction of sound waves.
sound
wind sound
source
source
ground ground

Diffraction
Imagine if sound waves were not diffracted around corners of objects but travelled in straight
lines. It would mean that when you spoke, sound waves produced by your vocal cords would
come out of your mouth and would go straight ahead. You would have to stand directly in
front of a person to be heard. However, we know that people at your side can hear you
because the waves diffract around the edges of your mouth. For the same reason, sound can
be heard around edges of open doors. If you are put outside the classroom you can still hear
the teachers voice even though you are around the edge of the door and cannot see the
teacher. Why is this?
You may also have noticed how echoes have a higher pitch than the original sound.
Recall that long wavelengths are diffracted more than short ones, so the low frequencies
(large wavelength) are diffracted more whereas the higher ones are reflected back to you.
Interference
As sound is a wave, interference abides by the same rules as for all waves. This can be demon-
strated in the classroom by using a signal generator connected to two speakers, as shown in
Figure 16.5.
Figure 16.5
The interference of sound can
be observed using two speakers
connected to the same signal
distance from
separation
generator making sound waves

source
from the speakers in phase. sources

maximum
zero intensity
signal intensity
generator
speakers
intensity
If you walk across the room in front of the speakers, constructive and destructive
interference producing maximums and minimums of loudness will be detected. Constructive
interference (loud) will produce sound when the path difference from the two speakers to the
detector is n. Destructive interference will be detected, and therefore no sound heard, when
there is a path difference of (n 21 ).
Pitch of sound
Pitch is our perception of whether a musical note is high like a soprano or low like a bass
singer. The pitch of a sound refers to its frequency. If the sound has a high frequency it is
said to be of a high pitch. The pitch or frequency of sounds emitted by humans is controlled
by the tension in the vocal cords.
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 6 P R E - P U B E S C E N T B OY S V O I C E S
1 It would be interesting to find out why boys, before puberty, have higher-pitched
voices than after puberty. What is happening to cause this cracking? Do some
research to discover what is happening to their vocal cords.
2 Why doesnt this happen to girls?
3 At what age, if any, does a dogs bark crack and become deeper?
The snickometer
Heres an idea for an experiment. TV broadcasts of test cricket are often
accompanied by the use of a snickometer to study the waveform of various noises,
so that the commentators and third umpire can judge whether a ball made contact
with the bat, pads, gloves etc. How do the following waveforms differ: bat on
ball, bat on pads, bat on pad buckle? Propose a justifiable hypothesis before
you begin. Taping the sounds and studying the waveforms on a CRO may be the
way to go.
Loudness and energy

The loudness of a sound is related to the intensity of the sound, which depends on the
energy carried by the wave. The energy is a function of the amplitude of the wave. Loud
sounds carry large amounts of energy and cause large vibrations in the particles of the
medium in which they are moving. This causes large vibrations in detecting equipment ear
drum, or microphone membranes. Refer to Section 16.9 for further discussion.
Sound quality Figure 16.6

The quality of a sound produced by a musical instrument is dependent on the waveform asso- The quality of the sound from an
instrument depends on the mixture
ciated with that instrument. The waveform is made up of a combination of frequencies and of frequencies emitted by the
not just one frequency like that emitted by a 256 Hz tuning fork. The waveform produced by instrument. A tuning fork emits
a musical instrument consists of a combination of the fundamental frequency, the lowest only one frequency.
natural one, and a number of other less intense frequencies called overtones or harmonics.
tuning fork
Overtones are whole number multiples of the fundamental frequency. This will be discussed
in Section 16.6 where diagrammatic representations will help to explain the production of
fundamental frequencies and overtones. Figure 16.6 shows examples of the waveforms
produced by some common musical instruments.
Notes are said to differ in pitch by one octave when the frequency of one is double that
piano
of the other. In the frequency table of musical notes (Table 16.2), doh is one octave above
middle C. In Latin, octa means eight, referring to the fact that there are eight notes from
C to C inclusive.
Ta b l e 1 6 . 2 M U S I C A L N OT E S A N D T H E I R F R E Q U E N C I E S
voice
C doh 256 Hz
D ray 288 Hz
E me 320 Hz
F fah 340 Hz
G soh 384 Hz flute
A lah 427 Hz
B te 480 Hz
C doh 512 Hz
oboe
Questions
5 A student makes a noise in the back of the classroom with a frequency of
1000 Hz. Calculate how long it will take to reach the teacher in the front of the
room 3.0 m from the student. What will be the wavelength of this sound? saxophone
6 A scuba diver taps one end of a 50 m copper pipe under water. Who will be first
to know this has occurred a scuba diver 50 m from the source or another
diver holding the other end of the pipe? How much earlier will it be recorded?
7 Calculate the speed of a sound wave that has a frequency of 800 Hz and a
wavelength of 42 cm. Can this sound be heard? Explain your answer.

8 When watching the fireworks at the local show you observe that you see the
flashes from the exploding fireworks in the sky 0.50 s before you hear them.
How far are they exploding from you?
9 A person standing on an observation platform in the mountains shouts and
hears the echo off a cliff 1.5 s later. How far is the cliff from the outlook?
10 A signal generator produces sound waves of frequency 1700 Hz, which are fed
into two speakers placed 1.0 m apart. A student walks across the room 5.0 m
from, and parallel to, the speakers. (Refer back to Figure 16.5.) How far apart
will the student hear minimums of intensity? (The speed of sound is 340 m s1.)
11 Students sitting in the stands at an athletic competition 200 m from the start
see the smoke from the starting pistol 0.6 s before hearing the sound of the gun.
Find the speed of sound in air on this day.
U LT R A S O U N D 16.5
Ultrasound is sound at frequencies above that of human hearing range, that is, above
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E 20 000 Hz. In Latin ultra means beyond. Artificial ultrasounds are produced by vibrating
quartz crystals, which are induced to vibrate by high-frequency alternating currents.
A bat emits a frequency of
120 kHz. What size insect could
The uses of ultrasound waves or ultrasonics are increasing very rapidly especially in the
it best detect? You may need to medical profession. Reflection and refraction of ultrasound waves are used to see unborn
read the section on radar in babies, tumours and body organs. High-frequency ultrasound is used to make particles of
Chapter 15 (Section 15.8) to objects vibrate at such a rate as to make them shatter. This is used by dentists to remove
help you answer this. plaque from teeth and by doctors to break up kidney stones. (Refer to Chapter 33, Medical
Physics.) Ultrasound is also used to heal muscular injuries; high-frequency ultrasound causes
a muscle fibre to vibrate, thus generating heat and increasing the blood flow to the area,
improving the rate of repair to damaged muscle.
Figure 16.7 In industry, ultrasound is used for cleaning small parts, for welding plastics and metals,
Sonar equipment makes use of
ultrasound waves. Reflected waves for driving piles, and for drilling holes in glass. In most of these high-power applications the
are recorded on a ships sonar action is caused not by the direct agitation of the sound wave but by heating and bubble
equipment as echoes.
formation.
sonar sonar Ultrasound has been used for a number of years in sonar equipment developed during the
transmitter receiver Second World War to detect enemy submarines. Sonar comes from the term sound navigation
and ranging. Because ultrasound waves have shorter wavelengths, they are less diffracted by
water than sound waves are and they are not absorbed by sea water as much as microwaves
are. They can therefore penetrate to great depths in water. Objects in water, the ocean floor,
a school of fish, submerged ships, or enemy submarines, can be detected by the reflection of
ultrasound waves.
The use of ultrasound waves to find objects is thousands of years old. Can you think of
an animal that uses ultrasound to find its way around?
This principle is also used in guidance systems to help the blind. Ultrasound transmitters
emit waves that are reflected from objects and the reflected waves picked up by a detector
ocean floor are heard through an earpiece. Blind people are trained to make sense of the reflected sounds,
thus enabling them to identify obstacles.
Bats
Bats use ultrasound to assist their poor eyesight. They are able to produce ultrasound pulses
Intensity
0.010 s apart and of approximately 100 000 Hz with approximately 3.0 mm wavelength.
Because the wavelength is so small these waves can reflect from small objects. Bats can also
determine the nature of the reflecting surface a hard surface gives a hard reflection; a soft
0 20 40 60 80 100 powdery surface gives softer sounds. Some bats emit a short constant-frequency signal and
Depth (m)
can analyse the return signal for frequency changes (see Doppler effect later in this chapter).
Bats ears are also concave to concentrate the reflected sound waves.
Most insects hearing extends into the ultrasonic region. Because insects are common Figure 16.8
prey for bats their ears have become sensitive to bat frequencies. On hearing these fre- Bats use the reflection of ultrasound
waves to find their way around as well
quencies the insects fly the other way. Ingenious scientists make use of this in developing as to find their food.
insect repelling devices that emit ultrasound waves at bat frequencies. Some species of moths
have evolved very clever methods of evading bats. They are able to produce sounds at the bat
ultrasound frequencies. When they detect bat ultrasonic waves they emit bursts of ultrasonic
waves at bat frequencies but of a lower intensity to confuse the bats. This causes the bats to
swerve or stop and listen. While this is going on the moth folds its wings and falls to the
ground undetected. Other animals such as whales and dolphins use ultrasound but the method
is not fully understood.
s
Questions
12 Why do bats use ultrasonic waves rather than audible sound waves?
13 A fishing vessel looking for schools of fish sends out pulses of ultrasonic waves
and finds the echo returns 1 s and 3 s later.
(a) What is the explanation for this?
(b) At what depth would you expect to find fish?
(The velocity of sound waves in sea water is 1450 m s1.)
14 The minimum wavelength of ultrasound waves bats can emit is 3.3 mm. What is
the highest frequency of sound that bats can emit?
15 Explain the technique of submarine captains resting their vessels on the bottom
to prevent them being detected by a surface vessels sonar.
16.6 THE PRODUCTION OF MUSICAL SOUNDS

Musical instruments produce sounds due to the standing waves set up in three different media:
Strings; for example, the guitar, piano, violin, viola, cello.
Air columns; for example, the flute, clarinet, recorder, organ, trumpet.
Membranes; for example, drums, bongos, cymbals.
Strings N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
When a guitar string is plucked a standing wave is formed between the ends of the string.
If you told a violinist that you
The frequency of vibration of the string produces the resulting sound. A number of different
are a physicist and she should
standing wave patterns can form in a string. (Recall from Chapter 13 that there are nodes play the strings about one-sev-
formed at the fixed ends.) enth of their length from the
The simplest standing wave pattern established in a guitar string is shown in end what would she say?
Figure 16.9(a). Measure where she plays is it
The length of the string is equal to 21 . This string length produces the fundamental one-seventh?
frequency (f0).
The second possible standing wave established is shown in Figure 16.9(b). Here the
length of the string is equal to 1. This is the first overtone and because it is twice the
fundamental it is also the second harmonic. Musicians often refer to overtones as partials.
The third possibility is shown in Figure 16.9(c). This time the length is equal to 1 21 . This
is the second overtone and as it is equal to three times f0 it is the third harmonic. Stringed Figure 16.9
instruments guitars, banjos, violins, and pianos as well as percussion instruments such The types of standing waves
as drums and bongos, rely on the above principle. set up in guitar strings.
L
(a) (b) (c)
L= 1 L = 1 L= 3
2 2
f0 = V = V f = V = 2V first overtone second overtone
fundamental f = V = 3V
2L 2L second harmonic 2L third harmonic

The frequency of sounds produced by string instruments has been shown to depend on
the tension of the string, the length of the string and the mass per unit length of the string.
For example, the six strings of a guitar are all of the same length but they produce different
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E notes because they have different tensions and masses per unit length. The relationship
between the tension, length, and mass per unit length of the string is expressed by the
What is the squeaky sound when
mathematical formula:
you are washing your hair with
shampoo and what is the
similarity with the shrill sound 1 T
f=
beginners produce on a violin? 2L M
where f is the frequency of the note produced in Hz; L is the length of the string in metres;
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E T is the tension in the string in newtons; M is the mass per unit length in kg m1.
You have dipped your finger in
Example
some wine (or metho) and run it
around the rim of a wineglass.
Find the fundamental frequency produced by a 48 cm wire of mass 1.0 g under a tension of
A loud sound is produced. 85 N.
Why doesnt it work if your
Solution
finger is not degreased by
L = 0.48 m.
the wine?
T = 85 N.
M = 1.0 103/0.48 m = 2.1 103 kg m1.

f= 1 T
2L M

1 85
=
2 0.48 0.00 21
= 209.6 Hz
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 7 R U B B E R BA N D G U I TA R
Figure 16.10 1 Place a rubber band between the index fingers of each hand. Stretch it and pluck
The first three harmonics produced by a
closed-ended pipe. Notice nodes form at it with your thumb.
fixed ends and antinodes form at open
ends. The different standing wave 2 Listen to the frequency of the sound produced. Stretch it more and listen to the
patterns produce the harmonics. sound again. Let it get less taut and listen to the sound again.
(The lines show the displacement of
air particles with time.) 3 You may be surprised with the result. Try to explain it using the law above.
(a) Closed Hint: as you increase the tension what happens to the mass per unit length?
L
fundamental
(1st harmonic) Wind instruments
L = 1 , f1 = v
4 4L displacement Wind instruments such as flutes also produce standing waves but in an air column. Again, as
of air particles
(b) with stringed instruments, the air column can vibrate in a number of ways. The way it vibrates
first overtone
(3rd harmonic) also depends on the nature of the instrument, whether it is closed-ended or open-ended.
L = 3 , f3 = 3v
(c)
4 4L
Closed-ended pipes
second overtone The most common examples of closed pipes are the clarinet family and stopped flue pipes in
(5th harmonic)
the organ. In such pipes, the simplest standing wave pattern set up is shown in Figure
L = 5 , f5 = 5v
4 4L 16.10(a).
(d) Notice that a node occurs at the fixed or closed end and an antinode occurs at the
third overtone open or free end. For this standing wave the length of the pipe is equal to one-quarter of a
(7th harmonic)
wavelength, that is, L = 4 .
1
L = 7 , f7 = 7v
4 4L
= 4L
Since v = f
f= v

v
f0 =
4L
This is the fundamental frequency (f0), also called the first harmonic.
The second possible standing wave pattern produced is shown in Figure 16.10(b). Here
the length L = 43 .
3 = 4L
= 4L
3
f= 3v
4L
This is the first overtone but since its frequency is equal to 3 times f0 it is the third harmonic.
Figure 16.10(c) shows the third possible standing wave. This is the second overtone or
the fifth harmonic.
Activity 16.8 OPEN-ENDED PIPES

Using the information in Figure 16.11, draw a diagram showing the next two
waveforms for the 5th and 6th harmonics of the open-ended pipe. Also label these with
correct overtone names.
You may also wish to research a quite famous mathematical relationship which is used
in the physics of vibrating strings. It is called Mersennes law, and relates the vibration
frequency of the string or wire to its linear mass, tension and length. Present your
findings in a research report including a discussion of the formula.
Find out Mersennes full name, his nationality, and how Galileo fits into the story. Figure 16.11
In open-ended pipes antinodes
form at the open ends.
Open-ended pipes (a)
The major difference between open-ended and closed-ended wind pipes is that the standing L
waves formed in open-ended pipes have antinodes at both ends. Apart from the clarinet fundamental
(1st harmonic)
family and stopped flue pipes in the organ, most other wind instruments are of the 1
=v
L=
2
, f1 2L
open-ended variety.
The simplest possible standing wave formed in an open-ended pipe is shown in (b)
first overtone
Figure 16.11(a). (2nd harmonic)
v
L = , f2 =
L
Here L = 1 (c)
2 second overtone
= 2L (3rd harmonic)
3
, f3 = 3v
f= v
L=
2 2L
2L (d)
third overtone
This is the fundamental or the first harmonic. (4th harmonic)
L = 4 , f4 = 4v
2 2L

The second possibility in shown in Figure 16.11(b).
Here L = 1 = 2
2
f = 2v
2L
Therefore this is the first overtone or the second harmonic.

The third possible standing wave is shown in Figure 16.11(c). This is the second over-
tone or the third harmonic.
Changes in length
In pipes and strings, you have seen that changes in length of the string or air column alter
the frequency of the standing waves. Here are some examples with musical instruments:
Guitars When a string is pressed down on to a fret (the wood or metal bars on the finger-
board), the length of the string is shortened and produces the next semitone higher. When
An orchestra tunes up at the the bass E string is pressed down at the fifth fret its frequency corresponds to that of the
start of a concert but as second string (A). A combination of finger placements on the different strings produces
the theatre warms up the harmonic sounds called chords.
musicians have to retune their
Flutes and reeds (recorder, clarinet, organ, bassoon) Fixed-length pipes have been around
instruments.
since the beginning of human history but they can only produce set harmonics as shown in
Do they find that the pitch
of their instruments rises or
the discussion above. In about the tenth century, to fill in the missing tones of the musical
falls as the theatre warms up? scale, finger holes were cut into musical pipes. This effectively shortens the length of the
String musicians can change air column, making an antinode at the position of the uncovered hole. In the eighteenth and
the tension of the strings. nineteenth centuries, makers covered the holes of trumpets and horns with keys to enable
What do wind musicians do? them to play the complete scale.
Trombone Another way of providing missing tones was to increase the sounding length of
the tube using a telescoping slide. Hand-stopping the bell (the open end) was discovered in
the eighteenth century to fill in more gaps in the instruments harmonic series.
End correction
The wavelength formulas of closed-ended and open-ended pipes discussed above are not
strictly correct. The particles of air at the open end of the tube do not strictly vibrate in one
dimension, and a small correction, which depends on the diameter of the pipe and takes
account of the motion of the particles in other dimensions, is needed.
To be strictly correct, the fundamental wavelength produced in a closed-ended pipe is:
= 4(L + 0.4d)
where is the fundamental wavelength; L is the length of the pipe; d is the diameter of
the pipe.
For an open-ended pipe this correction factor is required for both ends. Thus the funda-
mental wavelength produced in an open-ended pipe is:
= 2(L + 0.4d + 0.4d)

or = 2(L + 0.8d)
Only apply end correction in problems when you are told to do so.
Activity 16.9 OPEN-ENDED PIPES T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G
Have you ever heard someone

Part A with a very loud and expensive
1 Draw the next two possible standing wave patterns. (Refer to Figure 16.11.) car stereo driving down the
road? Why do you just hear a
2 Determine the overtones and harmonics of these two. thumping bass sound and no
Part B high frequencies if it is supposed
to be such a good stereo?
1 Blow into a recorder gently and listen to the sound. If you dont have a recorder,
use a test tube half filled with water.
2 Blow harder and see if you can produce the first overtone. Musicians call this
overblowing.
3 Blow harder still and if you are lucky you may create the next overtone. It
sounds awful but this is physics, not culture.
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 1 0 A U S E F U L S U M M A RY
Prepare a data table as shown (Table 16.3) and fill it out for the first four standing wave
patterns for (a) strings; (b) closed pipes; (c) open pipes. Keep this for revision.
Ta b l e 1 6 . 3
DIAGRAM L f OVERTONE HARMONIC
NUMBER NUMBER
Questions
16 (a) Is a higher frequency note produced in a long guitar string or a short string
of the same tension?
(b) Find the frequency of the note produced by a 51 cm guitar string of mass
0.50 g under a tension of 90 N.
17 A student blows across the mouth of a closed-ended plastic pipe 0.25 m long.
Calculate the fundamental frequency and the frequency of the third harmonic.
18 The distance between the reed and a hole in a recorder is 15 cm. Calculate the
fundamental frequency and the next three harmonics that are heard when this
instrument is played.
19 Draw the standing wave patterns set up in an open-ended pipe whose length is
1 1
20 cm and where the pipes length equals (a) 1 2 ; (b) 3; (c) 2 . (d) Calculate
the resultant frequencies emitted by the pipe in the above situations.

R E S O N A N C E A N D F O R C E D V I B R AT I O N S 16.7
P H Y S I C S U P DAT E Forced vibrations

The trombone duckbill was a
When a tuning fork is struck with a mallet it vibrates at its natural fundamental frequency as
10 m high dinosaur known as well as emitting a few less intense lower order harmonics. This fundamental frequency
Parasaurolophus. It had a 1.5 m depends on the length, thickness and composition of the fork. The intensity of the sound pro-
long skull (see figure), which duced can be increased by placing the end of the fork on a table top. The table top is forced
had a large cavity consisting of to vibrate at the same frequency as the fork thus intensifying the sound produced. The same
tubes and chambers. Scientists occurs for a guitar string. When it is held between two clamps and plucked it does not pro-
at the New Mexico Museum of duce a very intense sound, but when attached across the bridge of a guitar and plucked the
Natural History deduced that sound is more intense because the wood of the guitar (the soundboard) is forced to vibrate
this was a resonance chamber in response to the vibrating string. Violins, basses and other musical instruments use the
used for mating and warning same principle of forced vibrations to intensify the sound produced.
calls. The sound produced would
have been about the same
frequency as the lowest note on A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 1 1 F O R C E D V I B R AT I O N S
the piano. You can sample
this sound on the Internet 1 Excite a tuning fork and time its life that is, how long you can hear it.
just search for the museum 2 Repeat the above but this time hold its stem on a desk.
(nmmnh + trombone). 3 What do you hear now? Why is this?
Resonance
Resonance is the effect that occurs when a body vibrates at its natural frequency. All bodies
possess a natural resonance frequency. They can be made to start to resonate by another body
touching them or being in close proximity to another vibrating object at the correct
frequency. For example, a vibrating tuning fork can cause another one of the same frequency
to resonate if it is close by. Here are some practical examples of resonance:
Resonance vibration is why soldiers do not march in step when crossing older bridges
as they might cause the bridge to resonate and possibly collapse.
TUBE RESONANCE
Mechanical resonance caused the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the USA
in 1940. On a windy day four months after the completion of this suspension bridge
A closed tube with a variable it began to vibrate at its resonant frequency, causing it to collapse.
length can be made to resonate Opera singers can shatter glasses because they can sing notes at frequencies that hit
to particular sound frequencies. the resonance frequency of the glass.
The change in length of the Singing in the shower sounds so good because the column of air in the shower
tube between successive enclosure is about the right dimension to resonate as a closed pipe to amplify many
resonant positions is equal singing notes in your voice.
to one-half a wavelength.
If you run your moist finger around the lip of a crystal glass you hear a high-pitched
Thus v = L . 2 f squeal. This is the resonant frequency of the glass. You may first have to dip your
This fact can be used to finger in wine or metho to remove traces of oil.
measure the speed of sound
in the laboratory using the
You may also have noticed that your hair gets squeaky clean after you wash it. This
too is a resonance effect of longitudinal vibrations in the hair strands.
apparatus below.
Much louder sounds occur in musical instruments when standing waves in the tubes
oscillator-
plunger
resonate in harmony with the vibration in the mouthpiece or reed, etc. This can be
amplifier demonstrated if a tuning fork is attached to a resonance box. The sound of the
speaker L
tuning fork becomes much louder.
Good loudspeakers are designed such that no one (or more) of their resonance
frequencies (of which there are many) is dominant. Otherwise you would hear some
micro- closed
phone tube frequencies louder than others.
oscilloscope A seashell acts like a closed-ended pipe or resonator. The surrounding soft
background noise provides sounds containing all frequencies the ear can hear.
However, the shell increases the intensity of the frequency that is the same as its
resonance frequency, thus creating a louder, almost pure, frequency or tone.
Activity 16.12 RESONANCE N OV E L C H A L L E N G E

If you hold the right tuning fork
Activities to demonstrate resonance:
up to your mouth cavity you can
Part A cause the cavity to resonate.
Would you expect boys or girls
1 Set up apparatus as shown in Figure 16.12.
to have the lower resonant
2 Set one pendulum swinging and observe what happens to the other. frequency? Why?
3 Shorten one to 15 cm and repeat the experiment.

4 What do you notice?
Figure 16.12
The apparatus used to demonstrate
resonance. If one weight is made
to oscillate the other will begin
to oscillate.
Part B
1 Excite a tuning fork and hold it near your open mouth.
2 If resonance does not occur explain why and try another fork.
3 What distinction can you find between boys and girls mouth cavities?
Part C
1 Suspend a ping-pong ball on a piece of thread so that it hangs just touching the
prong of a tuning fork.
2 Excite another matching fork nearby and see if the ball moves.
3 Explain this in terms of resonance.
16.8 B E AT S
Beats are heard when sound waves of slightly different frequencies occur together. For
example, when frequencies of 320 Hz and 322 Hz occur together, the constructive and
destructive interference of these sound waves causes sounds that get louder and softer at
regular intervals. The above example has a beat frequency of 2 beats per second, which is
the difference in the two frequencies: fB = f2 f1.
Figure 16.13
Beats are formed by the
= 12 Hz constructive and destructive
interference of waves that are
produced together but have
slightly different frequencies.
= 15 Hz
resultant
wave form
t (s)
0 0 .5 1.0 1.5

Beats are used to tune pianos and other musical instruments. If a note on the piano and
a tuning fork are sounded at the same time beats may be heard. The tension in the piano
string can be adjusted until no beats are heard. At this time the piano is producing the same
frequency as the tuning fork. Do you wonder why it is called a tuning fork?
A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 1 3 B E AT S
1 Sound a pair of matched tuning forks together and listen for beats. There should
be none.
2 Add a small lump of Blu-tack or a rubber band on one prong of one fork and
excite both again.
3 What do you hear?
4 Does the beat frequency increase or decrease as the Blu-tack load is moved
down the prong? Explain why.
5 Take a look at Figure 16.5 again and redraw the diagram to illustrate how a
similar set-up could be used in the laboratory to produce sound wave beats.
You will need two signal generators. Try to set up the system with your teacher.
Questions
20 (a) Explain what resonance is and how it is produced.
(b) Explain why some older cars and buses start to vibrate when their engines
reach certain revs.
21 State the beat frequency when the following pairs of tuning forks are sounded
together: (a) 220 Hz and 217 Hz; (b) 340 Hz and 336 Hz; (c) 682 Hz and 688 Hz.
INTENSITY OF SOUND 16.9

One of the commonest properties of sound discussed in newspapers or on TV is sound
intensity. There are ongoing protests about noise levels by people who live near airports or
near outdoor concert venues. People living near an airport have to cope with noise levels of
about 100 dB. The level of noise produced by rock bands may be as high as 120 dB. To safe-
guard the health and safety of workers, governments pass legislation that places restrictions
on the noise levels in working environments. However, what do these noise levels 100 dB,
Figure 16.14 120 dB, etc. mean?
The intensity of sound is measured by
the sound energy passing through a Sound waves, like all waves, carry energy, which spreads out from the source like a pebble
square metre square area per second. being dropped into a pond. Suppose we take a 1 metre square area at some distance from a
It is measured in W m2. The intensity source, as shown in Figure 16.14.
level is measured in dB.
The intensity of sound at this distance from the source is defined as the amount of sound
energy that passes through this area per second.
1 m2 The absolute sound intensity (I) is the energy carried by the waves per second through
an area of 1.0 m2
Since power is energy per unit time, then absolute sound intensity is the power passing
S through a unit area perpendicular to the propagation of the wave.
I = power/area
Therefore the units of absolute sound intensity are W m2.
A range of intensities of various sound sources is given in Table 16.4. Notice the large
range of intensities the human ear can detect.
When the physics laboratory is
quiet, a dropped pin can be
Ta b l e 1 6 . 4 S O U N D I N T E N S I T I E S O F VA R I O U S C O M M O N S O U R C E S heard clearly at the back of the
room. Calculate the energy
NOISE ABSOLUTE INTENSITY, RELATIVE INTENSITY LEVEL arriving to the ear of a person
(W m 2 ) (dB) at the back. If you want
Jet plane taking off 103 150 second-hand data, assume the
Pain-producing 1 120 pin has a mass of 0.2 g and it is
Rock concert 1 120 dropped from a height of 1.0 m
Chain-saw 100.5 115 (use GPE = mgh). Assume all
Power mower 102 100 GPE is transformed into sound
energy that radiates outwards
Jackhammer 102 100
as a large spherical surface
Noisy restaurant 104 80
(Asphere = 4r2). Calculate the
Vacuum cleaner 104.5 75 amount of energy per square
Ordinary conversation 106 60 centimetre at the back of the
Average home 107 50 room (say r = 5 m). Is it more
Purring cat 109.5 25 or less than 109 J/cm2?
Whisper 1010 20 Not much huh?
Rustling leaves 1010.5 15
Faintest sound that can be heard 1012 0
The terms sound intensity and sound loudness do not mean the same thing, although
they are related. The absolute intensity of any sound wave of a given frequency depends on
its amplitude. The greater the wave amplitude, the greater the sound intensity. This is reason-
able since the greater the amplitude the greater the energy initially expended in setting up
the sound wave. The sensation of loudness is related to the measurable quantity, absolute
intensity. In general, sound waves of higher intensity are louder to the ear, but the ear is not
equally sensitive to all frequencies. Consequently a high-frequency sound may not seem as
loud as a low-frequency sound of the same intensity. The relationship between intensity and
loudness is not linear. For example, for a sound of a given frequency to be twice as loud to
the ear it must have ten times the absolute intensity. The relationship between the two is
therefore logarithmic.
Because of the great range it is often convenient to use a comparative scale to express
relative sound intensity levels the decibel scale. This is a logarithmic scale.
= 10 log (I/I 0) N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
The Tacoma Narrows suspension
where I is the intensity of the sound in W m2; I0 is the reference level, taken as the least bridge in the USA collapsed in a
audible sound (1012 W m2); is the relative intensity level in dB. mild windstorm (67 km/h) on
7 November 1940. It started
Therefore the relative intensity level of a whisper in dB is:
oscillating up and down 30
times per minute with an initial
10
= 10 log 10 12 amplitude of 1 m, which later
10 increased to 8 m prior to
= 10 log 10 2 collapse. You can simulate the
effect by directing an air dryer
= 20 dB jet sideways onto a strip of
paper held at both ends.
The conversion of absolute sound intensities to relative intensity levels in dB for many What different motions can you
common sounds is also shown in Table 16.4. achieve? Did you get twisting
The decibel scale was named in honour of Alexander Graham Bell (18471922), the and bending? How does tautness
inventor of the telephone. One bel (1 B) is equal to 10 decibels (10 dB). The bel is too big affect it?
for general use.

A Think of sound waves 22 Convert 107 W m2 to decibels.
radiating outwards in a spherical 23 Convert 5 108 W m2 to decibels.
shell. Calculate the intensity of
24 Convert 85 dB to W m2.
a rock bands sound at 100 m if
it has an intensity of 120 dB
close up. Note: the surface area
of a sphere = 4r2.
Noise pollution
B Humans hearing is pretty Sounds from cars, aircraft, lawn mowers, and rock bands can be more than just annoying.
sensitive. If a pin is dropped Noises sounds that are not periodic and lack order can cause damage to the ear, and
from 1 m high on to a desktop, may cause temporary or permanent deafness. They can cause other physical ailments such as
you can hear it from the back tiredness and lack of concentration as well as stress. Some controversies concerning noise:
of the classroom (try it!). Make A great deal of debate occurs when changes to runways of airports result in houses
some estimations to calculate being in flight paths.
the sound energy received by
Councils in residential areas place bans on the operation of noisy machinery between
your ear. Recall that the sound
certain hours, and especially on Sundays. See if you can find the local regulation
radiates out as a concentric
with regard to this.
spherical surface and this has
an area of 4r2. How far is Many complaints are received by police and councils about barking dogs and even
it to the back of a room? squawking birds.
How big is your ear hole? Workplace safety regulations require operators of noisy machinery tractors,
What does a pin weigh? pneumatic drills, jackhammers, etc. to wear ear protection.
Police also have a duty to control the noise emissions from cars.
All the above, combined with the emission of smoke, odours, etc., affect peoples
environment. People have a right to not have to suffer from activities that pollute their
environment.
Activity 16.14 NOISE POLLUTION

Use one of the five bullet points above to form the basis of a research report. Select one
of the controversies listed and discuss fully your research into the laws of physics that
are relevant to their solutions. You should present your own ideas to help solve the
problem topic you choose.
MODERN SOUND TECHNOLOGY 16.10

Basic components
Modern audio engineering involves the recording, amplifying and playback of a range of
sounds for music recording, public address systems and special effects such as in movie
soundtracks. This process utilises both analog and digital signals and the aim is to represent
Photo 16.3 and reproduce original sounds without distortion. Audio engineers need to be able to use
A typical home theatre system. musical instrument transducers, microphones, amplifiers, digital signal processors, audio and
video cassette decks, CDDVD players and speaker systems. These can be found in professional
theatres and movie complexes, home theatre sound systems or even in modern car audio
systems. Photo 16.3 shows a typical home theatre set-up with multiple components and
speakers. We will briefly discuss some of these components here, but they are also further
discussed in Chapters 24, 25, 26 and 31.
Microphones A microphone detects sound and converts the waves into electrical signals
which can be further amplified and/or recorded. Dynamic microphones use a thin diaphragm
attached to a voice coil which vibrates inside a magnetic field when struck by sound waves,
producing a continuous AC micro-voltage. Crystal or piezo-microphones rely on a movable
diaphragm that distorts a small piezo-crystal when sound waves strike and again produce AC
micro-voltages. Capacitive type or Electret microphones rely on the capacitive effect of Figure 16.15
two small thin metallic plates separated by a dielectric gap, across which is a larger DC A crystal microphone uses piezoelectric
crystals, which are able to produce
voltage. Sound waves striking the capacitors movable plate cause a small AC micro-voltage currents when subjected to pressure.
variation in the DC voltage applied. (Refer to Figures 16.15 and 16.16.)
Especially in sound stage work, microphones have been developed that are based on piezoelectric
crystal
these principles but are further enhanced. Shot-gun mikes provide a very narrow response
beam; pressure-zone PZM mikes produce an omni-directional wide field response to sound-
wave pressure variations. The microphones that most rock band singers use are dynamic types
because they need to be used close to the mouth; they are fairly insensitive and do not pick
up sounds from a wide direction pattern. electric current sound
to amplifier
Amplifiers These devices electronically increase the voltage amplitude of the output waves
movable diaphragm
signals from microphones, instrument transducers such as guitar pick-ups, or other auxiliary
devices such as CD players or digital effects processors (synthesisers), in order to make the
voltage and electrical power levels high enough to drive loudspeaker systems directly. Many Figure 16.16
A moving coil microphone produces
electronic audio devices will also have many stages of internal pre-amplification before the currents when the pressure of sound
output signal is sent to a separate multi-channel instrument or system power amplifier. waves causes coils to move in
magnetic fields.
Many amplifiers rely on integrated circuit chip modules to carry out the voltage
and power amplification, with output power measured in watts for a typical radio receiver movable diaphragm
amplifier, up to a few hundred watts per channel for a home theatre amplifier, and finally coils of
wire
up to several thousand watts for large amplifiers used by the major rock bands. Amplifiers
dissipate a large amount of heat and need to be protected from overheating with appropriate
installation housings and cooling fans. Often amplifiers can sense an appropriate input
signal level and switch into standby mode when not in use, to assist in heat control.
Loudspeaker systems These electrical devices are at the end of the audio chain and electric current sound
to amplifier magnet waves
convert electrical AC signals from the amplifier outputs back into sound waves. There
are many designs for speakers, and it is very complex to produce a design involving multiple
drivers because the behaviour of sound waves inside closed or open boxes, as well as
the nature of the listening environment, needs to be taken into account. The term speaker
usually refers to the electromagnetic driver as well as its box housing, while the term driver N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
refers to the actual device reproducing the sound. All drivers will eventually move air back-
wards and forwards by the use of a paper or polymer diaphragm or cone, producing rare- It is common to state amplifier
output power in a variety of
factions and compressions which are the sound pressure waves that our ears respond to. In
ways. Sometimes manufacturers
many speaker driver designs the cone is attached via an assembly called a spider to the voice
use misleading terminology
coil, which carries the AC current waves from the amplifier. The voice coil moves as a result when describing output power
of being within the strong magnetic field of the speaker magnet assembly. When AC current in order to make their product
flows through the voice coil the magnet induces a force on the coil which causes it to move seem better than it actually is.
laterally. This magnetic induction effect is discussed in more detail in Chapter 25. (Refer to Find out the meaning of the
Figure 16.17.) measurement units called Peak,
Peak to Peak, RMS or even
PMPO; and find out which is
corrugations
allowing the the industry standard.
frame
paper cone to Why can the use of these terms
move in and out be misleading to the consumer?
permanent
magnet
wire
coil
Figure 16.17
A schematic diagram of a speaker.
Variations in the current in the coils
paper cone
alternating current cause variations in the movement of
from amplifier the paper cone, which results in the
production of different sound waves.

Modern speaker driver research is concentrating on the materials that make the magnet
assembly. Australian CSIRO researchers are among the worlds leaders, producing exotic
magnetic alloys that provide very strong magnetic field densities. This enables speakers of
high power-handling capability to be made smaller and smaller. A visit to the local hi-fi
component retailer will confirm the incredibly small size of some modern speakers for the
sound output they provide.
Speaker drivers are often designed to reproduce only a small part of the audio spectrum
efficiently (from 20 Hz to 20 kHz); so when used in combination they need to be separated
with electronic cross-over networks involving capacitorinductor frequency filters. Some inter-
esting names are given to various frequency component speaker drivers. For example, the
Subwoofer is the high-power driver used to reproduce low-frequency effects, LFE signals such
as explosions and deep bass music notes, usually below about 150 Hz. These are usually
housed in large boxes. Woofers are used to reproduce low to mid-range frequencies up
to about 1.0 kHz. Squawkers or mid-range drivers can handle a wide range of frequencies in
the audio spectrum and are often used as the centre speech-reproducing driver, typically from
several hundred hertz to about 50 kHz. Tweeters are the specialist high-frequency drivers that
reproduce top-end sounds such as hisses and chirps from several thousand hertz right up to
20 kHz. Often they only need to be quite low in output power as the large amount of air
movement is not necessary.
A well-designed speaker system may contain multiple drivers, with woofersquawker
tweeter in the one box cabinet, and be able to handle simply one output channel from the
amplifier. Speaker resistance or impedance to the flow of AC electric current is measured in
ohms. Typical home theatre speaker systems are rated at 8 ohms, while typical car audio
speaker systems may be rated at only 4 ohms.
T h e h o m e t h e a t r e d i g i t a l s o u n d r ev o l u t i o n
Audiophiles of the past usually raved over their quadraphonic or stereophonic systems, which
Figure 16.18
A compact disc. normally consisted of analog components such as amplifier, record player, AMFM radio
receiver, and one or more magnetic tape decks. This was usually coupled with an inefficient
alumimium label acrylic stereo leftright speaker system which, if the system was a good one, reproduced original
music with minimal distortion and noise levels. With the coming of the digital revolution,
audio and videophiles now have components such as digital AMFM stereo PLL (phase locked
1.2 mm
loop) tuners, CD and DVD players, hi-fi stereo video recorders and DAT (digital audiotape)
decks coupled with HD (high-definition) digital televisions, multi-channel and decoder
polycarbonate amplifiers, which reproduce audio and video with incredible fidelity and without discernible
(a) Cross-section electronic noise. The computer revolution has allowed this equipment to be used with ease
to produce audio and video source material in the home without serious sound studios.
spindle motor
Lets now take a look some of the technology behind this digital audiovideo revolution
head and find out how it works. The process of analog to digital conversion, which underlies this
technology, is discussed in Chapter 24 (Section 24.2).
AMFM radio tuners A radio tuner will receive transmitted amplitude or frequency
modulated waves from a local radio station, usually in stereo (tuning principles are discussed
tracking
motor in Chapter 31) and convert small microvolt signals into a form ready to be amplified.
(b) Spiral track format Cassette or digital audio tape decks These contain electromagnetic induction heads
that decode magnetic patterns stored on magnetic tape and convert them into an electronic
1.6 m
signal stream, again allowing amplification.
0.5 m Audio compact discs (CDs) An audio music (CD-DA format) or computer data (CD-ROM
(c) Bumps or pits
format) device is a simple injection-moulded circular disc of polycarbonate plastic about
12 cm in diameter and about 1.2 mm thick, onto which is evaporated a thin layer of reflec-
tive aluminium. This is then covered with a layer of acrylic for protection and marketing labels
are attached to the top of the acrylic layer. When the CD is recorded or written to by a laser
beam, small indentations that represent the 1s and 0s encoded digital bitstream are made
into the reflective aluminiumplastic layer. (Refer to Figure 16.18, which of course is not to
scale.) These indentations become raised bumps when read from the scanning pickup laser
head side of the disc.
The track written onto a CD is one long continuous spiral 0.5 m wide (1 m
= 1 106 m), laid down with separations of only about 1.5 m. Typical data bumps on the
track are at least 0.83 m long and 126 nm high (1 nm = 1 109 m). For a typical 700 MB
CD the recording track may be about 5.0 km in total length. The CD player has the difficult
job of reading the data track and has four major functions to perform:
1 The drive or spindle motor must spin the disc at different speeds depending on what
part of the data track is being read. Speeds of between 200 and 500 rpm are common,
but CD-ROM discs in a computer drive may spin even more quickly.
2 The tracking motor moves the laser head linearly over the disc surface from inside to
outside. The tracking motor position also determines the spindle motor speed because
the reflective bumps towards the outer rim of the CD will be travelling more rapidly
past the pickup head, and the spindle motor has to be slowed down so that data comes Figure 16.19
CDs contain pits that result in the
off the disc at a constant rate. interference of light to produce
3 The lens and laser assembly. This is why all drives have the LASER CLASS device warn- electrical currents.
ing symbol attached to them, but in reality they are not dangerous at all when used
normally. The lens system must focus the laser beam onto the lands and bumps of LED
laser
reflective aluminium. The laser beam passes through the polycarbonate layer and
reflects off the bumps and lands, producing a variable light signal to the opto-elec- 1
mm
lens 600
tronic sensor. Further electronic digital gates in the drive provide the digital bitstream
to the DAC and finally to the internal signal amplifier. Figures 16.19 and 16.20 show light
detector
these processes.
4 The error-correcting and subcode-data-reading electronics. This system monitors any laser
head misreads due to dust or scratches on the disc surface (called burst errors) and
n
allows the bitstream to be recovered. The subcode data encodes position information tio
c r ota
on the disc so that operations like finding and skipping to a particular music track can dis
pits
be accomplished. These systems are most important on a computer data CD-ROM.
tracks on a digital disc
Can you see why?
It is interesting to further consider the differences between a normal CD and the record-
able or writable CD-R format, or even the rewritable CD-RW format. Engineers are constantly
improving the capabilities of these digital formats and player-readers. Figure 16.18 shows the
layers of a normal CD. In the CD-R format there are no bumps or lands, just a smooth reflec-
tive aluminium layer that rests on top of a layer of photosensitive dye. On a blank CD-R disc
this dye layer is translucent, but when the burner laser heats it up the dye becomes opaque.
The data track thus becomes a series of dark and reflective spots. One disadvantage of this is
that, once burnt, the CD-R layers are permanent.
To produce the re-recordable CD-RW format disc even more layers are required. Sitting
below the aluminium layer is a special chemical layer containing a crystalline phase-
changing compound of metallic alloy. Under normal conditions this compounds form is
crystalline and translucent, but again if the burner write laser heats it above 600C for an
instant it melts and becomes amorphous and opaque even after it is cooled. This process
allows the digital bitstream to be encoded as before. The CD-RW drive also contains an erase
laser setting that can hold the phase-change layer long enough at its melting temperature to
allow the compound to revert to its translucent state, thus allowing data to be rewritten over
and over again.
Figure 16.20
spinning CD disc Schematic diagram of CD
digital analog player electronics.
DAC A
output
signal converter signal amplifier
laser optical chip
diode sensor

Digital versatile discs (DVDs) An early product of analog technology called the laser-
disc provided better quality than magnetic videotape and had many advantages over that
format, but did not last long in the industry. It has now been superseded by the digital
versatile disc (DVD). A DVD is similar to a CD but can hold up to seven times as much data.
Even the drive, tracking and read electronics is much the same as a standard CD. DVDs,
because of their increased data-holding ability, are used for storing huge amounts of digital
data such as complete multi-volume encyclopaedias or full-length MPEG-2 encoded (a data
compression technique) movies and associated extras.
Compared to the 0.5 m wide tracks of CDs, the DVD tracks are just 320 nm wide, sepa-
rated by only 740 nm. The bumps encoded on the metal layers are just 120 nm high and have
a minimum length of 400 nm. Not only is an aluminium layer used in DVDs but also semi-
reflective gold layers are used to allow the laser beam to access multiple layers. Most DVD
movies are encoded using 96 kHz 24-bit digital information, so this means that the DVD
player must have at least a 96 kHz 24-bit DAC for replay. Table 16.5 lists the DVD layering
process formats available.
Ta b l e 1 6 . 5 C O M PA R I S O N O F T H E DV D L AY E R I N G F O R M AT S
DVD LAYER FORMAT DIGITAL CAPACITY PLAYING TIME AVAILABLE
Single-sided/single-layer 4.38 GB Approx 2 hours
Single-sided/double-layer 7.95 GB 4 hours
Double-sided/single-layer 8.75 GB 4.5 hours
Double-sided/double-layer 15.9 GB Over 8 hours
To really enjoy recorded music at its brilliant digital best the latest DVD format is DVD-
audio. This format requires the use of a 192 kHz 24-bit digital-to-analog converter DAC, which
is higher than a typical DVD player. The following table compares the older CD-DA audio
compact disc with the latest DVD-audio standard.
Ta b l e 1 6 . 6 COMPARISON OF CD-DA AND DVD-AUDIO COMPACT DISCS

AUDIO SPECIFICATION CD-DA STANDARD DVD-AUDIO STANDARD
Sampling rate 44.1 kHz 192 kHz
Sampling resolution 16-bit 24-bit
DAC Output levels 65 536 16 777 216
Home theatre digital sound formats As we said at the beginning of this section, one
of the greatest advances in sound technology has been in the use of multi-channel sound
systems and the improvements in video output. A typical DVD player and digital home
theatre amplifier (receiver-amplifier if it also includes an AM-FM stereo radio-tuner) provides
signal outputs for up to eight independent sound channels, commonly referred to as surround
sound. Dolby Digital 5.1 or DD surround sound is one of the best known and is developed by
Dolby Laboratories, famous for noise reduction technology in previous generations of sound
equipment.
In general, to produce surround sound modes, electronic equipment needs to be able
either to synthesise new channel information from the originally recorded simple stereo
leftright ( LR) pair of signals, or to handle the already encoded multi-channel information
coming from the recorded medium such as a DVD. The amplifier is said to contain sound
system decoders if it is able to perform this function. Lets take a look at some of the more
common digitally enhanced surround sound modes.
1 Three-channel stereo an analog electronic simulation of an extra front centre channel:

LCR.
2 Dolby Pro-Logic an analog electronic simulation of a front centre channel, as well
as the simulation of a mono rear channel, sent most often to two separate surround
speakers: LCR[SRSL]. A most recent version called Dolby Pro-Logic 2 is available
that increases the signal level amplitude of both the C and rear S channels.
3 Dolby AC-3 or Dolby Digital 5.1 Full processing of a digital bitstream at either 384
or 448 kilobits per second of up to full discrete full bandwidth channels (20 Hz20kHz)
plus a low frequency effects LFE channel at a bandwidth of 120 Hz (this is the so-called
0.1 channel or subwoofer output): 6 speakers LCRLSRSLFE.
Digital compression of the bitstream is used in all digital sound formats. DD 5.1
uses a compression ratio of about 12:1. Most amplifiers will provide only a low level
signal output for the LFE channel, so it will often require extra amplification. Figure
16.21 illustrates the home theatre speaker set-up for this type of system compared
to the audience position. It is important to remember that all speakers except for the
subwoofer should ideally be at typical ear height, or just above, for the audience.
Figure 16.21
Dolby Digital 5.1 speaker set-up.
left right
surround surround
centre
left right
subwoofer
4 Digital Theatre System DTS very similar to DD 5.1, with the advantage that digital
compression of only 4:1 is used for supposedly greater fidelity. Typical DTS soundtracks
are encoded with a 1.4 megabits per second bitstream, but of course require a separate
decoder. The first DTS encoded DVD available in Australia was the hugely successful
Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe as Maximus.
5 Dolby Digital Surround EX again basically the same as DD 5.1 except that it includes
an extra discrete sixth channel designed to be placed immediately behind the audience.
It is like DD 5.1 enhanced with Dolby Pro-Logic: LCRLSRSLFESC. The first DD-EX
encoded movie was George Lucass Star Wars: Episode 1 the Phantom Menace.
6 Remaining systems worth mentioning in this context are the Sony Dynamic Digital
Sound (SDDS) decoding, which is used primarily for large movie cinema sound repro-
duction, and the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG-2) encoding, which also can be
used for DVDs.
You may also notice on recently released movies and DVDs the term THX certifica-
tion. What this means is not another surround sound encoding system, but rather a set
of performance standards established by the LucasFilm company and called the
Tomlinson-Holman Experiment! This calls for particular functional and performance
requirements from the audio equipment, such as decoders, equalisers, DVD players,
amplifiers and speaker systems, both in professional cinemas (THX-Ultra for over 85 m3
spaces) and home theatres (THX-Select for typical spaces of around 57 m3). You know
you have the ultimate in a home theatre system if you are able to achieve Home THX
certification. Now that would be something to brag about, but it would be very, very
expensive.

The rear panel of a modern DVD player or home theatre amplifier contains a large
number of connector jacks to allow for signals into and out of the device. Taking a
typical DVD player, we might find at least the following:
Audio outputs: 2 analog stereo LR, RCA connectors colour coded as red for
right and white for left. 6 analog 5.1 channel outputs, a single coaxial RCA
digital output as well as a single optical digital output for the fibre-optic
cable that is capable of carrying all six DD channels.
Video outputs: single or double C-V (composite video) connectors, which
provide lowest quality video signals directly to a television monitor; these
are usually colour-coded yellow. One or two S-video outputs which provide
good quality video signals to an S-video equipped monitor or data projector.
The highest-quality signals are provided by the three separate RCA
component video connectors, colour-coded red, green and blue. These
provide RGB signals directly to the electron guns of the monitors or
high-definition display devices.
Digital television, data projectors and plasma screens As well as surround sound
systems, any good home theatre set-up will also provide the best in video displays, whether
that be by normal large-screen television monitors, high-definition digital TV, wide-screen
plasma panels or digital data projectors.
In Australia as from 2001 most TV stations began broadcasting some programs in digital
format (wide-screen digital) as well as the normal analog PAL format. A fully digital TV
monitor, or at least an electronic set-top box (STB decoder, similar to the currently available
analog cable TV), is required to view these transmissions. The Australian government will
phase out all PAL analog television by about 2008, so by then we will all be watching it. The
main advantages of this digital technology will be greatly improved picture quality, which will
be about the same as current PAL DVDs for the standard form (SDTV) and even better for high
definition (HDTV). Television reception will be improved, as will the availability of surround-
encoded sound formats such as DD 5.1 and the ability to include caption, subtitles and multi-
angle viewing for sporting events etc.
The video or picture information is encoded using the MPEG-2 digital compression for-
mat at two resolution settings, being either SDTV = 576i = interlaced scanning at 50Hz, 576
active scanning lines and 720 pixels per line (720 570 pixels screens) or HDTV = 1080i =
interlaced scanning at 50 Hz, 1080 lines at 1280 pixels per line (1080 1280 pixel screens).
SDTV can be broadcast in either normal 4 3 ratio screen dimensions (letterbox format) or
the 16 9 ratio (wide-screen); HDTV will be available only in wide-screen. Consumers will
start to notice SDTV, HDTV and STB devices appearing in retail stores over the next few years.
Good websites from which to discover more about the Australian digital TV scene are either
Robert Simons at <http://www.digitaltv.com.au/index.html>, or the Digital Broadcasting
Authority at <http://www.dba.org.au/>, or even the newsgroup aus.tv.digital. Take a look.
Another method of displaying video information is with video or data projectors. These
are typically used where larger image sizes are required. Two main techniques are used, called
LCD (liquid crystal display technology, better for smaller screens) and DLP (digital light
processing technology, more suitable for larger cinema screens). George Lucas, in premiering
his digitally produced Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace, called for DLP projectors
to enhance the visual experience.
LCD projectors work by splitting the light from the projector lamp into three primary
colour beams red, green and blue (R-G-B). Each beam then passes through a small LCD
panel which acts like an electronic slide. Each LCD panel typically has 800 600 pixel
elements, and can be switched on and off according to the video recorded digital signal, to
provide a correct full-colour image when the beams are recombined and passed through the
main projector lens onto a screen. LCD panels and the transistors used to switch them on and
off can produce quite a lot of heat, and the final image can look very pixellated on the screen
due to the spacing between pixel elements on the LCD panels.
DLP projectors developed by the Texas Instrument semiconductor company are based on
TIs digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs invented by Dr Larry Hornbeck in 1987), which are
basically large-scale integrated circuit chips that contain a huge array of micro-miniature
aluminium-coated mirror elements that pivot back and forth under the control of a separate
digital signal processor (DSP). One mirror exists for each pixel element, which has an area of
only 16 m2 at gaps of 1.0 m; hence a 1024 758 (XGA) resolution DMD will contain
786 432 mirrors. Also, micro-torsion bar tilting of the mirror pivots is done with electric fields
so that each mirror element is pointing (or not pointing) at the screen. DLP projectors
can use one, two or three DMD devices. The three-chip approach (each separately handling
R-G-B information) is the best, and the large expensive HDTV DLP cinema projectors contain
DMDs that provide 1 310 720 mirror elements, giving S-XGA resolutions of 1280 1024 pixels.
Texas Instrument specifications suggest that the DMD mirror elements switch at a rate of 5000
times per second. Not bad? Figure 16.22 indicates the DMD device structure as well as the
two-chip DLP set-up.
micromirror Figure 16.22
(a) (a) DMD device.
(b) Two-chip DLP projection system.
array
(b) pivot torsion bar
light source
lens optics screen
colour
wheel
lens
projector lens
colour separating
prism
dual
DMD
chips
digital signal
DSP processor
A recent addition to the armoury of possible display devices is the plasma screen displays.
These devices can be very thin in design and can easily accommodate large wide-screen video
formats. Plasma screens do not use cathode ray tubes (CRTs) or LCD-DLP projectors, instead
creating images by using an array of cells that receive a constant flow of low-pressure neon
and xenon gas (hence the use of the word plasma). The cells are arranged in a rectangular
matrix between sheets of thin glass and are covered with electrodes. When the electrodes are
fired, the voltage stimulates the gas to emit UV light in a similar way to a fluorescent light
tube. This UV light is then converted to visible coloured light by hitting phosphor coatings
on another layer. Each cell is restricted to one particular R-G-B and each pixel that makes up
the display image has three different cells, one for each colour. Plasma screen displays are
still quite expensive, just like DLP projectors, but as with normal consumer market forces their
prices will come down as manufactured numbers increase and more consumers start using the
technology.
One final point worth noting concerning the home theatre sound technology improve-
ments is that your lounge or living-room design might not be up to scratch for the best view-
ing and audio experience. You may very well research this point, making use of acoustics ideas
from the next section. Were sure, though, that your parents will be quite willing to pay for
an upgrade to your own study room so that you may have the best conditions when studying
for your next physics paper. Right?

A c t i v i t y 1 6 . 1 5 R E S E A R C H O N H O M E T H E AT R E
TECHNIQUES
1 The electrical signal sent from the amplifier to the speakers is sent through a
filter to select the correct range of frequencies for each of the different speaker
types. Discuss the construction of a filter and explain the physics principles
involved. Compare and contrast a low-pass and a high-pass filter.
2 The circuit for a Dolby Digital decoder is not available, because the exact
decoding process is strictly an industrial secret and needs to be added by
manufacturers without alteration. Try to report on circuits for other types of
surround sound decoders that are more freely available.
3 Three characteristics of a sub-woofer are: (a) you only need one for a stereo
system, whereas other speakers handle left- and right-channels individually;
(b) it doesnt matter where you put it; (c) it usually has its own power supply.
Explain the physics behind each of these design features.
ROOM ACOUSTICS 16.11

Acoustics, the study of sound, sound technology and its effect on humans, plays an impor-
tant part in the design of rooms, auditoriums and theatres, especially those used for high-
quality performances. Walls, floors, ceilings all cause reflections of sound. These reflections
may cause deterioration of the performance. However, some reflection is required a listener
would have trouble hearing if sounds were received from the source alone. These reflections
affect the reverberation time and thus the acoustical quality. The reverberation time is the
time it takes for the sound intensity to fall to one-millionth of its original intensity; that is,
to fall by 60 dB. In lecture theatres, concert halls, etc. it is an important consideration.
Multiple reflections are undesirable in lecture theatres because they obscure the spoken word.
It is therefore desirable that the reverberation time be less than 1.0 s. Reflections are more
desirable in concert halls as we want the listener to be totally immersed in the sound. It is
therefore desirable that the reverberation time be of the order of 2.0 s. The reflections and
reverberations lift the intensity of the sounds, but no single reflection should arrive at an ear
later than one-twentieth of a second after the original sound or it will be heard as an echo.
The reverberations in a room depend on the size and shape of the room and the way the
sound-absorbing linings of the room reflect or absorb sound. The absorbing quality of
materials varies. Table 16.7 indicates the absorbing quality of several common materials.
However, these qualities also depend on the frequency of the sound.
Ta b l e 1 6 . 7 S O U N D A B S O R P T I O N Q UA L I T I E S O F S O M E C O M M O N
M AT E R I A L S
MATERIAL SOUND ABSORPTION QUALITIES
(PERCENTAGE OF INCIDENT ENERGY ABSORBED)
Glass window 4
Plasterboard 10
Carpet 25
Thick wool over brick 70
THE DOPPLER EFFECT 16.12

Everyone has observed the variation in frequency of sound from a police car, ambulance or
fire engine as it rushes past. As the vehicle is approaching, the frequency of the sound of the
siren is higher and at the moment it passes the frequency drops. This apparent change in
frequency due to the objects motion is called the Doppler effect, and is attributed to an
Austrian physicist and mathematician, Christian Doppler (18031853), who first investigated
this phenomenon. This frequency change can be noticed if either the source of the waves is
moving toward or away from a stationary observer, or the observer is moving toward or away
from the stationary source of the waves.
Figure 16.23 will help to explain this effect.
(a) (b) Figure 16.23

The Doppler effect. When the
source of sound is moving toward
the observer the waves are
compressed.
A B A B
vs
source of
periodic waves
shorter wavelength; longer wavelength;
higher frequency lower frequency
Figure 16.23(a) shows the wave pattern produced by a stationary source. The waves
are equally spaced and will arrive at points A and B at regular intervals. Now if the source is
moving toward A (Figure 16.23(b)), the waves will be closer together in the direction of
motion than if the source was not moving.
For example: Let the velocity of the waves be 10 m s1, the velocity of the source be N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
5.0 m s1, and the frequency of generation of the waves be 10 per second (10 Hz). If the
The frequency shift effect was
source was not moving, after 1 second 10 waves would be produced and the furthest one
first proposed by Doppler in
would be 10 m from the source. The wavelength would be 1 m. However, if the source was
1842 but the first experiment
moving at 5.0 m s1, the source would have moved 5.0 m and the 10 waves would exist in was not done until French
the 5.0 m between the source and A. The wavelength would be 0.50 m. The first wave would scientist Buys-Ballot had a go in
still have moved 10 m to point A. The waves would still have the same velocity as they 1845. He arranged for a carriage
would still be in the same medium, but the wavelength would be shorter and therefore the full of brass musicians to go
frequency increased. past him in a train as they blew
For an observer at point B: After 1 s the distance between the source and B would now a steady note. To study this
be 15 m with 10 waves between the source and B. The wavelength would be 1.5 m. This is a effect quantitatively, what sort
greater wavelength therefore the frequency would be lower. of measuring devices would be
For Figure 16.23(a) the wavelength is given by the equation: v = f or = v/f, where needed?
is the wavelength; f is the frequency; v is the velocity of the wave.
Now for Figure 16.23(b): the period of the wave T = 1/f and the velocity of the source is
vs. After a certain time (t), after the production of n waves, t = nT: the distance between the
source and point A is the difference between the distance the waves have travelled and
the distance the source has moved.
This distance is:
d ds = vt v st
= (v v s)t
= (v v s)nT
= (v v s)n/f

The new wavelength is this distance divided by the number of waves:
A motorcycle horn emits a note

of 400 Hz when stationary. If a d d s = (v v s)n
motorcyclist approached a wall n fn
emitting a 400 Hz sound and v vs
=
this was reflected back, what f
pitch would a stationary
observer hear (higher, lower, the
same)? What would the cyclist Since v = f
hear? If the motorcycle was Then:
moving at 20 m s1, calculate
both of these frequencies.
= v v s
f
v = v vs
f f
v
f = f
(v v s)
For our previous example:
v
f= f
(v v s)
10
= 10
10 5
= 100
5
= 20 Hz
This is a higher frequency.

Similarly for point B, as the source is moving away the new distance becomes d + ds.
Therefore:
v
f = f
(v + v s)
A similar analysis can be carried out with the observer moving instead of the source, pro-
ducing an apparent frequency of:
f = f (v + v o)
v
if the observer is moving towards the source, and:
f = f (v v o)
v
if the observer is moving away from the source.
One equation can be used for all situations, using a positive or negative to take account
of the relative motion of the source or observer. This equation is:
f = f (v v o)
(v v o)
where f is the apparent frequency; f is the frequency of waves produced by the stationary
source; v is the velocity of the waves; vs is the velocity of the source; v0 is the velocity of the
object.
Example
A super-train moving past a station at a speed of 180 km h1 (50 m s1) sounds its whistle as
it comes into the station. If the frequency of the whistle on a stationary train is 320 Hz, what
would be the frequency heard by the station-master standing on the platform if: (a) the
train was approaching the platform; (b) the train was moving away from the platform?
(The velocity of sound in still air is 341 m s1.)
Solution
(a) The observer is stationary (v0 = 0). The source is moving toward the observer,
therefore:
f = f (v v 0)
(v v s)
v
f = f
(v v s)
341
= 320
341 50
= 375 Hz
(b) The observer is stationary (v0 = 0). The source is moving away from the observer,
therefore:
v
f = f
(v + v s)
341
= 320
341 + 50
= 279 Hz
Rule:
Source moving, observer stationary When the source moves toward the observer, the fre-
quency is greater (toward equals greater) which requires a negative () sign in the denomin-
ator. If the source moves away from the observer, a plus (+) is used in the denominator.
Observer moving, source stationary When the observer moves toward the source, the
frequency is greater (toward equals greater) which requires a plus (+) sign in the numerator.
If the observer moves away from the source, a negative () is used in the numerator.
Some practical examples of the Doppler effect

Astronomers use the Doppler shift of light frequencies to measure speeds of distant
galaxies.
Physicians can detect heartbeats of a foetus by means of a Doppler shift of ultrasound.
Police radar units use the Doppler effect to measure the speed of cars, baseballs and
cricket balls.
Soldiers can tell if a rocket is coming toward them or going away by listening to the
Doppler shift. The loudness enables them to also estimate this distance.

Subsonic bullets dont emit a 25 State what a listener observes about the apparent frequency of a sound source when
loud crack when fired.
the following occurs. Complete a copy of Table 16.8 but do not write in this book.
What advantage would this be?
Do any hand guns have
subsonic bullets?
Ta b l e 1 6 . 8
LISTENER SOURCE APPARENT CHANGE IN FREQUENCY
Still Approaching
Still Receding
Moving away Stationary
Moving toward Stationary
26 Students celebrating the finish of Year 12 drive along the street at a speed of
60 km h1 while sounding a whistle that has a frequency of 1200 Hz. Other
students standing on the side of the road hear the noise as the car approaches
and goes away. What is the apparent frequency of the whistle: (a) as the car
approaches; (b) as the car goes away? (The speed of sound is 330 m s1.)
27 A police cars siren emits sound waves of 1000 Hz. If this car is involved in a car
chase and is travelling at 120 km h1 what frequency will a person on the side
of the road hear: (a) as the car is approaching; (b) as the car is going away?
(c) What frequency will the person driving the pursued car hear? (Assume this car
is travelling at the same speed as the police car.) (The speed of sound is 340 m s1.)
The sound barrier

The speed of sound Mach 1 (named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach)
is approximately 1200 km h1 at sea-level and decreases as altitude increases. It is about
1050 km h1 at a height of 11 000 m.
When planes fly faster than the speed of sound they are said to break the sound barrier.
As they approach the speed of sound, sound waves compress in front of the plane (Doppler
effect), which results in the formation of a shock wave.
As the plane breaks through the sound barrier the shock wave is left behind within a
noise cone. Within this noise cone the waves emitted in a forward direction accumulate and
constructively interfere to make a very large amplitude disturbance. When this noise cone
reaches an observer a loud bang is heard. This is known as a sonic boom and results in large
acoustic pressures.
In 1947, the first experimental piloted aircraft to break the sound barrier was the Bell
Photo 16.4 X-1 powered by a four-chambered liquid-rocket engine and launched in the stratosphere from
The Concorde was the only supersonic
the underbelly of a flying bomber.
commercial aircraft in operation.
Notice its sleek design, which allows it As planes began to break the sound barrier in the 1940s their design changed. As planes
to safely break the sound barrier. approach the sound barrier the air surrounding the plane becomes harder to fly through and
the resistance increases greatly, making planes unstable. This resulted in the deaths of many
test pilots in the 1940s when the ambition to break the sound barrier was paramount.
Supersonic aircraft need to be much sleeker with pointed noses; for example, the Concorde,
which could fly at 2000 km/h. Although the Concorde was supersonic, it was also expensive
to operate and passenger confidence never recovered after its crash in France in 2000. The
last flight of the 12 remaining Concordes was in 2003. New commercial airlines of today focus
on fuel economy, quietness and automation, instead of speed. Greater safety, increased reli-
ability, less noise and pollution, better passenger comfort, more navigational aids and less
room for pilot error are all guidelines for the commercial airplanes of tomorrow. Supersonic
planes are no longer on the drawing boards of any major manufacturer.
Practice questions
(For all questions unless specified use vsound = 340 m s1.)
*28 When sound waves travel through a medium, in which direction do the particles
of the medium vibrate?
*29 A tuning fork produces 2.4 104 compressions and rarefactions in the air
particles around it in 10 s. The distance between each compression is 0.14 m.
(a) Find the frequency of the tuning fork.
(b) What is the velocity of sound in air?
*30 In a thunder storm the lightning is seen before the thunder is heard, as the
velocity of light is much greater than the velocity of sound. If the thunder is
heard 10 s after the lightning is seen how far away is the storm? (The velocity
of sound is 340 m s1 at the current temperature.)
*31 Explain how sounds can have the same pitch but different qualities.
**32 Two speakers are placed 2 m apart and produce sound of the same frequency and
in phase. A person walks across the front of the speakers as shown in Figure
16.24. In doing so she notes that the intensity of the sound goes down, then up
again, then down again at point B 0.5 m from the centre point A. What is the
wavelength of the sound emitted by the speakers?
Figure 16.24
For question 32.
S1
B
3m 0.5 m
A
2m
signal S2
generator
speakers
intensity
*33 A marine survey vessel plotting the contours of the ocean floor sends an
ultrasonic wave and receives an echo back 1.2 s later. Calculate the depth of the
ocean at this point. (The velocity of sound in sea water is 1400 m s1.)
*34 A student produces a note by blowing across the mouth of an open-ended piece
of plastic pipe 0.2 m long. Calculate the frequency of the third harmonic.
*35 A 40 cm organ pipe is open at both ends. If air is blown over one end what is the
fundamental frequency emitted from this pipe?
**36 Open-ended and closed-ended pipes can produce the same fundamental frequency.
(a) Calculate the fundamental frequency produced by a closed-ended pipe of
length 25 cm.
(b) Calculate the length of the open-ended pipe that would produce the same
fundamental frequency.
(c) Even though they both produce the same fundamental frequency they would
sound different. Explain with calculations why this occurs.

**37 A pipe is open at both ends and is 0.58 m long.

(a) Determine the wavelength of the sound that would produce the fundamental
frequency in this pipe.
(b) Calculate the frequency of the second and third overtones.
(c) What harmonic is the fourth overtone?
(The speed of sound is 342 m s1.)
**38 One method of measuring the speed of sound is to stand a distance of, say,
300 m from a wall in an open area and bang two pieces of wood together while
timing and listening for the echo. When the echo is heard bang the wood
together again. Continue to do this, say, 10 times, and then stop the timing.
Knowing the distance to the wall and the time, the velocity of sound can be
calculated. If the distance to the wall is 300 m and the time measured from the
first noise to the last echo was 17.5 s, calculate the velocity of sound.
Figure 16.25 **39 The apparatus in Figure 16.25 can be used to find the speed of sound. Section A
For question 39. is fixed while section B is movable. A tuning fork of known frequency is sounded
over one opening, C, and you listen over the other opening, D. If you make
the lengths of A and B equal, a maximum of intensity is heard at D, but if B is
D
slowly moved out a minimum of intensity, then a maximum, then another
minimum will be heard.
B A (a) Explain why this happens.
(b) When B is moved out a distance of 21 cm the first minimum of intensity is
C
heard. Calculate the speed of sound. (The tuning fork used had a frequency
of 400 Hz.)
**40 Draw diagrams to show the standing waves set up in a harp string of length
L when the length of the string corresponds to (a) two wavelengths; (b) three
and a half wavelengths; (c) four wavelengths. (d) Calculate the frequency of the
sound emitted from this string in each of part (a), (b), and (c), when the
length of the harp string is 0.60 m, the mass of the string is 20 g, and the string
is under a tension of 120 N.
**41 Students experimenting with musical notes set up a row of test-tubes in a test-
tube rack. They then fill them to various levels with water. By blowing across the
top of the tubes they are able to create different notes. If the distance between
the top of the water and the top of the test-tube for the first one is 8.0 cm:
Figure 16.26 (a) calculate the fundamental frequency emitted by this tube;
For question 43. (b) describe what the students will need to do to create different frequencies,
and calculate the distances from the top of the tubes to the water if they
wish to create fundamental frequencies of (i) half that in part (a);
(ii) twice that in part (a); (iii) three times that in part (a).
**42 Discuss the possibility of open-ended organ pipes producing different frequency
tuning fork notes on hot or cold days.
air column ***43 An open tube is placed into a container of water and a vibrating tuning fork
placed over the mouth of the tube. (See Figure 16.26.) As the tube is raised so a
greater length of the tube is out of the water, resonance is heard. This occurs
when the distance from the top of the tube to the water level is 12 cm, and
again at 50 cm. Determine the frequency of the tuning fork.
***44 To find the frequency of an unknown tuning fork (Z), two tuning forks (X and Y)
of known frequency are used. X has a frequency of 245 Hz and Y has a frequency
water of 247 Hz. When Z is sounded with X, 30 beats are heard in 10 s. When Z is
sounded with Y 10 beats are heard in 10 s. What is the frequency of Z?
***45 A 442 Hz tuning fork is sounded at the same time as the A string of a guitar.
A beat frequency of 50 beats per 10 s is heard. If a rubber band is wrapped
tightly around one prong of the tuning fork and this is then sounded at the
same time as the guitar string, a beat frequency of 30 beats in 10 s is heard.
What is the frequency of the guitar string?
***46 A ferry crossing the river at 10 km h1 sounds its whistle as it approaches the
jetty. Passengers on board the ferry hear two whistles the whistle itself and
its echo from the rock face behind the jetty. They appear to be different. What is
the frequency of the reflected sound if the frequency of the whistle is 480 Hz
and the speed of sound is 330 m s1?
***47 In 1845 the Dutch meteorologist Christoph H. D. Buys Ballot first tested the
Doppler effect by having two trumpet players play a musical note of 440 Hz, one
on a moving flatcar of a train and the other on the station platform. While they
were playing the note, a beat frequency of 3 beats per second was heard by a
person at the station. How fast was the train moving?
***48 To detect the location of cannons on a battlefield, the army used a method
called triangulation. Several microphones would be placed in a straight line at
1 km intervals along the front line. When the cannon noise was detected by
the closest microphone, a timer would start and the delay for the second and
subsequent microphones would be recorded on a paper roll. If three microphones
1 km apart were used and there was a time delay of 1.2 s to the second
microphone and 3.7s to the third microphone, determine the position of the
cannon (there may be more than one answer). A similar process is used to detect
the epicentre of earthquakes.

Ch17-Walding 4th 25/8/04 12:01 PM Page 381
UNIT 06
Optics
CHAPTER 17
Reflection of Light
17.1 INTRODUCTION
Light has played an important part in the evolution of humans since the beginning of time.
Light from the Sun has supplied the energy for plants to photosynthesise, thus producing
plant growth and food for animals and humans. A by-product of this, if it can be called such,
is the production of oxygen a necessary ingredient for sustaining life on Earth.
Over the past two decades energy from sunlight has played an important part in the
conservation of other forms of energy. The development of non-polluting forms of energy will
add to our quality of life. Use of solar energy will play a major part in our energy needs in the
future. Light energy from the Sun is used to provide energy to heat water in solar hot water
systems, reducing the dependence on coal-burning electricity production. Light is used in the
production of solar electricity electricity used to provide energy for remote telephone boxes,
to fuel cars that race experimentally, and for energy-conscious households of the future.
But light has a more important use it allows us to see. It allows us to identify objects,
see colours and in most cases to choose our partners.
Scientists have developed many devices that enhance our perception of the world around
us, with the development of mirrors and lenses that allow us to see better glasses; to see
further telescopes and binoculars; and to see finer detail microscopes. This is the
content of this chapter and the next three chapters: Optics the study of light and devices
that use light.
A study of mirrors and lenses will enable you to answer questions such as:
Where is light energy being used today?
How can we concentrate light energy to be able to use it?
17.2 THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT

Light energy can be converted to other forms of energy and vice versa. Light energy from the
Sun is converted into chemical energy stored in plants, as well as into heat energy, and elec-
trical energy. Other forms of energy such as heat energy and electrical energy are converted
into light energy, such as when a light is turned on. Objects that emit their own light energy
such as light bulbs, light from a star, or even a hot flame are called luminous objects. But
these are few, because we see most objects by the reflection of light. When a light source
illuminates objects they reflect light to our eyes; these objects could not be seen in a dark
room. These are non-luminous bodies.
Light travels at a speed of 3 108 m s1 in a vacuum and, contrary to Newtons original
proposal, at a slower speed in water, glass, or any other medium.
17.3 L I G H T R AY S
Contrary to the belief of small children and our early ancestors, we see objects because light
from these objects travels to our eyes, and not the other way around. It is no use covering
your eyes, the bogey man will still be there and able to see you.

To determine the position of an object requires narrow beams of light, light rays, to
reach your eye, preferably your two eyes. Your brain traces these rays back to where they
appear to meet. This, your brain tells you, is where the light originates. The wider the base
for triangulation the better the positioning of the object. We call this stereoscopic vision.
Activity 17.1 DEPTH PERCEPTION

1 Ask a partner to hold up a finger within your reach.
2 Close one eye and try to touch your finger on the top of theirs.
3 How close did you get?
4 Try this again with both eyes open.
5 How close did you get this time?
6 Is one eye better than the other?
When only one eye is open, rays enter this eye at either side of the pupil, creating a
narrow base and producing poor depth perception. With both eyes open, the base for
triangulation is greater and so is the depth perception. Animals and fish that are hunters have
eyes placed wide apart on the front of their heads so as to improve depth perception.
We use rays of light to determine where objects or images are. Rays of light travel in
straight lines from objects. Importantly, rays from distant objects are close enough to be
considered parallel.
Light boxes are common devices used to produce thin beams or rays of light for the
Figure 17.1 investigation of optics in the laboratory (Figure 17.1).
Light boxes that produce thin beams
of light (rays) are used in laboratory
A laser is another device used to produce thin beams of light. These also have the added
optical investigations. convenience of emitting light of one wavelength. Laser stands for light amplification by
stimulated emission of radiation. Briefly, light is produced when the atoms of the laser
reflected mirror medium are excited by electrical discharges or intense light flashes. When these atoms return
ray
to their unexcited state they give off energy in the form of light of a particular frequency and
phase. Notice that you cannot see the light of a laser or even the light from a light box unless
it strikes a wall or an object, as your eye and brain only respond to light when it strikes your
light box eye. However, the following activity will allow you to see the laser beam without looking
incident directly into it as this is very dangerous and can damage your eye.
ray
slits Activity 17.2 LASER LIGHT

1 Place a laser at one end of the laboratory and turn it on so the beam strikes the
wall at the other end of the room.
2 Hit a chalk-filled duster with a ruler around the area where the beam passes.
4 Try to explain why this occurs.
PLANE MIRRORS 17.4

Plane mirrors normally consist of flat pieces of glass that have their backs coated with a thin
layer of aluminium, and with lacquer to stop the aluminium from flaking. However, up until
1857 mirrors mainly consisted of highly polished pieces of steel. In that year Jean Foucault
developed a method of silvering glass to make mirrors, thus producing a lighter and better-
quality mirror than the common polished metals ones that tarnished. This brought about large
advances in the development of astronomical telescopes.
Reflection of Light 383

Laws of reflection
What happens to a ray of light when it strikes a mirror? Everyone would say it is reflected.
But in what way is it reflected?
A c t i v i t y 1 7 . 3 L AW S O F R E F L E C T I O N
1 Stand a mirror on a piece of white paper.
2 Using a light box with one slit, shine a ray onto the mirror at various angles.
3 In each case draw in the incident ray, the reflected ray and the position of the
mirror.
4 Measure the angles between the normal to the mirror and the rays.
We call:
the ray that strikes the mirror the incident ray
the ray that leaves the mirror the reflected ray
the perpendicular to the mirror the normal
the angle between the incident ray and the normal the angle of incidence
the angle between the reflected ray and the normal the angle of reflection.
These are shown in Figure 17.2.
mirror Figure 17.2
The common terms associated with
incident rays of light and plane mirrors
ray (i = r ).
back of mirror
normal i angle of incidence

r angle of reflection
reflected
ray
The above activity should have demonstrated the first law of reflection:
The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence.
There is something else you may have noticed from the activity even though it may have
been regarded as trivial. To obtain the angles in the activity, the incident ray, the normal
and the reflected ray all lie in the same plane, that is, the plane of the paper.
If many parallel rays strike the mirror they leave the mirror parallel to each other, as
incident Figure 17.3
parallel Specular reflection from a plane mirror.
rays Parallel incident rays produce parallel
reflected reflected rays.
parallel
rays

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Activity 17.4 REGULAR REFLECTION

You walk towards a plane mirror
at 1 m s1. How fast does your
1 Shine the light from a light box with a number of slits producing parallel light
image approach you? The mirror onto a plane mirror.
now approaches you at 1 m s1. 2 What do you notice about the rays that are reflected from the mirror?
How fast does your image
approach you now? This property is called regular or specular reflection. However, if these parallel rays are
incident on an uneven surface such as a sheet of paper or a table top the reflected rays
are not parallel.
Activity 17.5 DIFFUSE REFLECTION

1 Shine light from a light box with a number of slits onto a sheet of paper instead
of a mirror.
2 What do you notice this time?
This is called diffuse reflection. It is not that the laws of reflection are being broken; it is
just that the surface is uneven and the incident rays are not striking the surface, or parts of
the surface, at the same angle (Figure 17.4). The angle of incidence still equals the angle
of reflection for each ray at the particular point of contact.
Figure 17.4
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Diffuse reflection occurs from a rough
surface. Parallel incident rays do
In the April 1984 edition of New
not produce parallel reflected rays.
Scientist magazine, a report
appeared on the work of British
inventor Charles deSelby. rough
DeSelby reasoned that when you surface
look at yourself in a mirror you
are not seeing yourself at that
instant in time but when you Because of this, images cannot be produced by surfaces that produce diffuse reflection.
were a fraction of a second
younger (the time it takes light
to travel from your face to the
mirror to your eyes). He set up
Images
two parallel plane mirrors facing If you look into a mirror you can see the image of yourself but where is this image? The
each other and produced an position of this can be found with a little investigation.
enormous number of images as
the light reflected back and
forth. If you place your head Activity 17.6 IMAGES
between the mirrors you can
verify this (even at home). Each 1 Place a sheet of paper on a styrofoam board.
successive image was further 2 Stand a mirror on this paper.
away in time than the one
before. He used a telescope to 3 Place a pin in the paper a distance of about 10 cm from the mirror this is the
peer at the receding images and object.
he said he noticed that his
4 Move your head to a position at an angle to the mirror and observe the image of
image appeared successively
younger until he finally noticed
the pin. Place two pins in line with this image. These represent a reflected ray.
he looked like a young boy 5 Move your head to another position and place two more pins in line with the
of particularly beautiful image another reflected ray.
countenance. Was deSelby a big
liar or what? What is wrong with 6 Mark the position of each pin and the mirror.
his theory? 7 Draw up the reflected rays and extend them to where they meet. This will give
you the position of the image (Figure 17.5).
8 What did you find?

You would have found that when this ray diagram is drawn and extended back (this is Figure 17.5
what your brain does), the rays appear to meet behind the mirror. Notice that they only Two rays are needed to determine
appear to do so. This is called a virtual image as the rays do not pass through it and there- the position of the image.
fore the image could not be focused on a screen. image (virtual image)
You may have also noticed that:
the image is the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front back of
and mirror
the line joining the object to the image is perpendicular to the mirror
pins
A c t i v i t y 1 7 . 7 T R I A N G U L AT I O N
This is just a short activity to demonstrate the importance of using a wide base of
observation to locate images in mirrors.
object
1 Ask a student at the back of the classroom to speak and ask a student at the pin
front, with eyes closed, to indicate where the speaker is.
2 Repeat the procedure but ask two students sitting close together at the front to
indicate where the speaker is. (This gives a better indication of the source of the
sound.)
3 Repeat the procedure but this time ask two students sitting a large distance
apart at the front to indicate the source of the sound. Figure 17.6
The image of an object can be determined
4 What did you find? using ray diagrams.
mirror
You get the idea you need two rays, and the wider the base of observation the better
and more accurate the placement of the source of the sound. X
A A'
Ray diagrams, the principles of reflection, and triangulation can be used to diagrammatic-
ally show the relationship between objects and their mirror images.
Figure 17.6 shows the image of an arrow AB in a mirror. Using two rays from point A
reflecting from the mirror to your eyes the image of A can be established. The same applies
to B. Remember to position an object two rays are needed and your brain, using the learnt
fact that light travels in straight lines, traces the rays back to where they appear to come from.
Notice the arrow slopes the opposite way. This should have been predicted as it has Y
B B'
already been established that the image of an object lies the same distance behind a mirror
as the object does in front and is on the perpendicular to the mirror. Therefore AX = XA, and
BY = YB. The same applies for all points between A and B. Notice also that the image AB is
the same size as AB.
Another curious fact about images in plane mirrors is that the image is laterally
reversed. This is seen when you observe yourself in a mirror. If you wink your right eye it is
the images left eye that does the winking left and right are reversed. Again, this can be
established by drawing ray diagrams (Figure 17.7). The object X is on your left and Y on your
right. In the image, X is on the images right.
X' Y' Figure 17.7
A ray diagram shows lateral inversion
mirror in a plane mirror.
X Y
Plane mirrors have been used for many years in various ways; for example, as beauty aids,
and in cameras. They were used by First World War soldiers in the trenches, and are used in
submarine periscopes and at football matches.

Figure 17.8 People often think that a photograph of themselves is not very complimentary. This can
For question 2. be explained because they are used to seeing themselves in a mirror. The image they see of
(a) B
themselves has been laterally inverted, unlike the photograph.
Questions
1 Give examples of luminous and non-luminous bodies.
2 For the three cases shown in Figure 17.8, state the angle of incidence, the angle
A D C of reflection, the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal.
(b) X 3 For each of the cases shown in Figure 17.9, state the size of the angle of incidence.
4 A student walks toward the front door of the school building at night. If she
approaches the doors at a speed of 2 m s1, at what speed will her image in the
Y W doors approach her?
5 If a plane mirror produces images that are laterally reversed, then explain with
the aid of a diagram why periscopes do not produce images that are reversed.
(c)
Z
Q
Corner reflectors
Interesting reflections occur from plane mirrors when three plane mirrors are placed along the
three axes (x, y, and z) like the internal corners of a cube (Figure 17.10). This is called a
P R corner reflector. Corner reflectors reflect light directly back towards the source no matter
what angle the light strikes the reflector from. Cats-eyes on many roadways are made of
S corner reflectors. They also have many applications in science; for example, a laser geo-
dynamic satellite LAGEOS has over 400 corner reflectors and is used to measure continental
Figure 17.9 drift by bouncing laser beams from the satellite. Scientists have placed corner reflectors on
For question 3 the Moon to reflect laser pulses from the Earth and thus accurately measure the changes in
(a) the EarthMoon distance.
50 50
One-way mirrors
Everyone has seen police movies where a witness stands behind a one-way mirror. The
(b) witness can see the criminal but the criminal cannot see the witness. How do these work?
20 20
One-way mirrors rely on the lighting in the rooms. Just as you can very easily see your
reflection when you try to look through a window on a dark night, the same occurs when a
criminal tries to see through the one-way mirror. The room containing the line up is very well
lit while the observation room is dark. The criminal looking into the window sees his or her
(c) reflection and the glass appears to be a mirror. However, the witness in the dark room can
130 observe the criminal, as light from the well-lit room passes through the glass. The one-way
mirror can be improved if a thin layer of metal is coated on the mirrors back surface.
This improves the reflection properties but still allows enough light to be transmitted for
observations to be made.
CURVED MIRRORS 17.5

Figure 17.10
A corner reflector, which consists of Curved mirrors are just as common today as plane mirrors but in many cases not as obvious.
three perpendicular mirrors, reflects light Can you identify some places where they are used?
back the way it came. A curved mirror can be one of two types, either convex or concave, depending on where
y the reflecting surface is. Curved mirrors are normally spherical mirrors, that is, they come from
a part of a sphere. Imagine you had a hollow glass sphere. If you could take a section out of
z the sphere and silver either the outside or the inside you would have a spherical mirror. If the
outside is coated this becomes the back of the mirror, producing a concave mirror. If the
x inside is silvered it becomes a convex mirror. Curved mirrors can make light rays converge
(come together) or diverge (spread out), as shown in Figures 17.11 and 17.12.
light ray

Features of spherical mirrors

The centre of the sphere of which the mirror forms a part is called the centre of curvature
(C). The line through the centre of the mirror to the centre of curvature is the principal axis.
The spherical section becomes a concave
inside surface (a) or convex (b) mirror, depending on
radius of silvered
which surface is silvered.
curvature R R
principal axis pole incident pole

C light C principal axis
centre of incident
curvature light
outside surface
silvered
concave mirror convex mirror
The point at which light rays parallel to the principal axis converge, in the case of a concave
mirror (converging mirror), or appear to converge when extended back, in the case of a con-
vex mirror (diverging mirror), is the principal focus (F). (See Figure 17.12.) This point could
be found experimentally using a light box with multiple slits. In the case of the convex mirror
these rays would have to be traced back to establish the focus a virtual focus. In each case
the focus could be found geometrically using the laws of reflection. (See Figure 17.13.)
Figure 17.12
Common terms associated with
spherical mirrors.
principal
axis
C F
focus F C
centre of principal focus centre of
curvature axis curvature
concave mirror convex mirror

(converging mirror) (diverging mirror)
In either case the focal point is found to be half the distance from the mirror to the
centre of curvature (c = 2f). The distance from the mirror to the focus is the focal length ( f)
Figure 17.13
of the mirror. Using the law of reflection, i = r,
with a number of rays, the focal point
Measuring the focal length of a concave mirror can be determined.
normal
There are a few methods for determining the focal length of a concave mirror including incident ray
finding the position of the image and then using the mirror formula. However, the simplest reflected
i ray
r
methods use the principle of parallel rays converge at the focal point.
C
Activity 17.8 FOCAL LENGTH F

r
i reflected
1 Shine the light from a light box with a slide that contains three or four slits on to incident ray ray
the concave mirror. The focal point is where these rays intersect after reflection.
normal
2 Use the light from a distant object outside the window of the laboratory.
Focus the light from this object onto a screen placed in front of the mirror and
measure the distance from the mirror to the screen when a clear, distinct image
falls on the screen.
3 How do the two methods compare?

But how do you measure the focal distance of a convex mirror?
Images
The position of images seen in curved mirrors can be determined by drawing ray diagrams. To
establish the position of the image requires drawing at least two rays. Any number of rays can
be drawn using the laws of reflection, but these require the use of protractors to ensure the
angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. For this reason three easily drawn rays are
normally used:
A A ray parallel to the principal axis reflects through the principal focus, or appears to
come from this point in the case of a diverging mirror.
B The reverse of A. A ray through the focus reflects parallel to the principal axis.
C A ray through the centre of curvature reflects back through the centre of curvature.
(Remember the centre of curvature is the centre of the sphere of which the mirror forms a
part, therefore all rays from this point are perpendicular to the curved surface.)
Images concave mirrors

The following examples are ray diagrams drawn to find the image of objects placed at various
distances from a concave mirror.
Example 1 object outside the centre of curvature Look at Figure 17.14. Notice that we only
need to find the image of the head of the object as the foot is on the principal axis directly
below the head; therefore the image of the foot will be directly below the head of the image.
Figure 17.14
An object placed outside the centre of
the curvature of a concave mirror
produces an image that is smaller, real,
inverted, and between F and C. object
C F
image
Example 2 object at C See Figure 17.15.

Figure 17.15
An object placed at the centre of the
curvature of a concave mirror produces
an image that is the same size, real,
inverted and at C. object
C F
image
Example 3 object between C and F See Figure 17.16.

Figure 17.16
An object placed between the centre of
curvature and the focal point of a
concave mirror produces an image that
is larger, real, inverted and outside C. object
C F
image

Example 4 object between F and the mirror See Figure 17.17.
Figure 17.17
An object placed between the
focal point and a concave mirror
(i) produces an image that is
image larger, virtual, upright and
object behind the mirror.
C F
Notice that in Example 4, ray (i) does not actually pass through the focus but lines up
with the focus. Also, to find the image the reflected rays have to be constructed back to
where they appear to meet.
The characteristics of images are usually described using a set of common descriptors:
size
real or virtual
upright or inverted
position.
In the above examples for concave mirrors the characteristics of the images are as follows:
Example 1 diminished (smaller); real (as the rays actually pass through the image, and
because of this it can be focused on a screen); inverted; on the same side as the object
between the focal point and the centre of curvature.
Example 2 same size; real; inverted; at C on the same side.
Example 3 magnified; real; inverted; outside C on the same side.
Example 4 magnified; virtual; upright; behind the mirror.
Images convex mirrors

Rays similar to those drawn for concave mirrors can be drawn to find the images in convex
mirrors.
Example 1 object a long distance from the mirror See Figure 17.18.
Figure 17.18
An object placed a long distance from
a convex mirror produces an image that
is smaller, virtual, upright, and behind
the mirror.
object
F C
image
convex mirror
Note 1: C and F are behind the mirror. (As C is the centre of the sphere, it has to be behind
the mirror and F is half-way between C and the mirror.)
Note 2: The rays have to be traced back to where they appear to come from.
Description diminished; virtual; upright; and behind the mirror between F and the mirror.
Example 2 object close to the mirror See Figure 17.19.
Description diminished; virtual; upright; and behind the mirror between F and the mirror.

Figure 17.19
An object placed close to a convex mirror
produces an image that is smaller, virtual,
upright, and behind the mirror.
F C
object image
Notes on images
In each of the above cases when virtual images are formed they are always upright.
Where real images are formed they are always inverted.
Convex mirrors always form virtual images.
Magnification
Magnification (M) is the size of the image compared with the size of the object.
M = Hi
Ho
where Hi is the height of the image; Ho is the height of the object.

Example 1
An object of height 1.0 cm is placed 6.0 cm in front of a concave mirror of 4.0 cm focal
length.
(a) Draw an accurate ray diagram to locate the image.
(b) Describe the image.
(c) Find the magnification.
Solution
(b) Magnified, real, inverted, outside C on the same side as the object.
Figure 17.20
For sample problem.
object F
image 4 cm
6 cm
concave
mirror
(c) M = Hi
Ho
= 1.8 cm
1.0 cm
= 1.8

Note: to make drawing of ray diagrams easier, that is, without the use of compasses to draw
the mirror, we can use a vertical line through the back of the mirror to represent the reflect-
ing surface. This is a reasonable approximation as long as we stay within the middle part of
the mirror.
Example 2
A convex mirror has a focal length of 6.0 cm. An object of height 1.5 cm is placed 2.0 cm in
front of the mirror.
(a) Draw an accurate ray diagram to find the position of the image.
(b) Describe the image.
(c) Find the magnification.
Solution
(b) Diminished, virtual, upright, behind the mirror between the mirror and F.
Figure 17.21
For sample problem.
1.5 cm object
image
2 cm 6 cm F
convex mirror
(c) M = Hi
Ho
= 1.0 cm
1.5 cm
= 0.67
Questions
6 State as many differences as you can between concave and convex mirrors.
7 Which of the two mirrors, concave or convex, (a) spreads parallel light out, or
diverges the light; (b) focuses parallel light to a point, or converges the light?
8 Use a ray diagram and an appropriate scale to find the position of the image
of a 10 cm high object placed 1.5 m in front of a concave mirror of focal length
20 cm.
9 An object of 2.0 cm height is placed 5.0 cm in front of a diverging mirror of
10 cm focal length.
(a) Draw a ray diagram to find the position of the image.
(b) Describe the characteristics of the image.
(c) Use the magnification formula to find the height of the image.
17.6 THE MIRROR FORMULA

We need a more accurate method of finding the position of an image without drawing ray
diagrams, which are not very accurate. We can do this by using a formula.
Consider the following derivation and refer to Figure 17.22.

Figure 17.22
Used for the derivation of the A
mirror formula. u H
Ho Ho
G f
D
B F
Hi Hi
v E
I
ABD ~ IGD
Ho = u
Hi v
ABF ~ EDF
Ho = BF
Hi DF
= uf
f
HDF FGI
Ho
= DF
Hi GF
= f
vf
uf = f
f vf
(u f ) (v f ) = f2
vu uf vf + f 2 = f2
vu = vf + uf
vu = (v + u)f
1 = (v + u)
f vu
= v + u
vu vu
= 1 +1
u v
1 1 1
This formula, = + , relates the focal length f to the object distance u and the image
f u v
distance v and is called the mirror formula.
H v
The equation M = i = is used to find the magnification.
H0 u
Note: since we have measurements on either side of the mirror, in front and behind, an order
convention is required. We will make all measurements on the object side of the mirror posi-
tive and those behind the mirror (taken as the origin) negative. Hence concave mirrors have
a positive focal length, and convex mirrors have a negative focal length.
To remember that u represents the object distance and v the image distance, recall that
u comes before v in the alphabet and that light goes to the object before the image.
v
When using the magnification formula (M = ), the absolute valves of v and u should
u
be used. That is, ignore + and values.
Now lets see how accurate we were in drawing ray diagrams.

Example 1
An object of height 1.0 cm is placed 6.0 cm in front of a concave mirror of focal length
4.0 cm.
(a) Find the position of the image.
(b) Find the magnification and the height of the image.
Solution
(a) Using the formula, the mirror is concave, therefore f = +4.0 cm.
1 = 1+ 1
f v u
1 = 1+ 1
4 v 6
1 1 = 1
4 6 v
6 4 = 1
24 24 v
v = 12 cm
The image is 12 cm in front of the mirror.
(b) M = Hi = v
Ho u
= 12
6
= 2
H i = 2H o
= 21
= 2 cm
Example 2
A convex mirror has a focal length of 6.0 cm. An object of height 1.5 cm is placed 2.0 cm in
front of the mirror.
(b) Find the magnification and the height of the image.
Solution
(a) The focal length is negative for convex mirrors as it is on the opposite side of
the mirror as the object, hence f = 6 cm.
1 = 1+ 1
f v u
1 = 1+ 1
6 v 2
1 1 = 1
6 2 v
1 3 = 1
6 6 v
4 = 1
6 v
v = 1.5 cm

The image is 1.5 cm behind the mirror.
(b) M = Hi = v
Ho u
= 1.5
2
= 0.75
H i = 0.75H o
= 0.75 1.5
= 1.125 cm
Note: the image distance for real images is positive whereas the image distance for virtual
images is negative.
Questions
10 A small light bulb is placed 20 cm in front of a concave mirror of focal length 15 cm.
(a) Calculate the image distance.
(b) Calculate the ratio of the width of the image of the bulb to the width of the
actual bulb.
(c) If the bulb was 1 cm across how wide would the image be?
(d) What type of image is produced?
11 Students performing experiments with diverging mirrors try to locate the image of
a small candle of height 2 cm in the mirror. When the candle is placed 25 cm
from the mirror they see the image in the mirror to be smaller. (The focal length
of the mirror is 20 cm.)
(a) Draw a ray diagram to locate the image.
(b) Use the mirror formula to calculate the position of the image.
(c) What is the height of the image?
12 An object of height 2 cm is placed 4 cm in front of a diverging mirror of focal
length 6 cm.
(a) Draw a ray diagram to find the position and height of the image.
(b) Use the mirror and magnification formulae to verify your answer to part (a).
13 A concave mirror of focal length 10 cm is used to produce an image on a screen
that is half the size of the object.
(a) Find the position of the object and the image.
(b) If you wanted to produce a real image of twice the size where would be the
position of the object and the image?
S P H E R I C A L A B E R R AT I O N 17.7
Spherical aberration is the inability of a concave mirror to focus parallel light to a point.
Parallel rays after reflecting from the mirror do not meet at a point but over a small region,
Figure 17.23 sharp

Parabolic mirrors help to eliminate focal
spherical aberration where a blurred point
focal point is produced. large
aperture
principal mirror
axis
blurred large parabolic mirror

focal spherical
point mirror

producing a blurred focal point rather than a sharp point. This defect of curved mirrors is
called spherical aberration. It occurs more often when the mirror is large. It can be overcome
by using smaller aperture mirrors or by only using the central region of larger mirrors. Special
larger parabolic mirrors whose geometry results in the sharp focusing of parallel light are also
manufactured to overcome this defect (Figure 17.23).
17.8 USES OF CURVED MIRRORS

Concave mirrors Photo 17.1
Concave mirrors are also used to produce magnified images so as to observe more Torches use concave mirrors to produce
a nearly parallel beam of light.
detail in objects. Recall that if an object is inside the focal length then it produces
an upright magnified image. Larger focal length concave mirrors are therefore used as
shaving and make-up mirrors. Small concave mirrors are used by dentists.
Concave mirrors are used as the reflectors in a number of applications where parallel
or almost parallel light is required. If the light source is placed at the focal point
of the mirror almost parallel light will be produced; for example, reflectors in
headlights of cars, torches, and searchlights.
Concave mirrors, because they bring together (or focus) light rays, are used to
collect light energy as well as other forms of energy. Solar furnaces or ovens use
large concave mirrors to concentrate light energy from the Sun onto pots and
kettles placed at the focus. The biggest solar furnace in the world is located in the
Pyrenees mountains in southern France. An array of computer-controlled plane Photo 17.2
Satellite dishes enable TV sets to pick
mirrors (heliostats) on a nearby hill track the Sun and reflect the light onto an up TV waves that are reflected from
eight-storey-high converging mirror. The converging mirror focuses the sunlight onto satellites by concentrating TV waves on
a small building housing the solar furnace. Temperatures in excess of 3000C have to an aerial.
been reached in this experimental furnace.

Concave mirrors are also used to concentrate other electromagnetic radiations
such as radio and TV waves. Satellite dishes concentrate TV waves to be used by TV
sets. Radio waves from stars can be focused onto the antennae placed at the focus of
the receiving dish, which conducts the signal to an amplifier. (See Photo 17.2.)
The same principle applies to astronomical telescopes. Larger optical reflecting
telescopes concentrate visible light energy to the focus, where the eye piece or
photographic equipment is placed. (Refer to Chapter 20, Optical Instruments.)
Interestingly enough, because sound is so important to bats, bats ears are concave
in shape to collect and concentrate sound energy.
Convex mirrors
Convex mirrors, because they have a wider field of view than plane mirrors and produce Photo 17.3
upright images, are used as rear-vision mirrors in cars; however, they have a disadvantage in Bats ears are concave to collect reflected
ultrasound waves.
that distances can be misjudged. They are also used on intersections of streets where vision
is obscured. This allows drivers to see around blind corners.
Because of their wide field of view they are also used in shops for security purposes.
Practice questions
*14 White paper or the desk top does not produce an image of an object. Does this
mean the laws of reflection are not true for these surfaces? Explain!

*15 If you observe yourself in a plane mirror what are three significant optical facts
about the image?
*16 One method of taking your own photo is to photograph your image in a large
mirror. If you are standing 2.0 m in front of the mirror what distance setting should
you use to obtain a photo in focus? Would an autofocus camera focus correctly?
*17 If you wish to view your whole body in a mirror what is the minimum length of
such a mirror and where on the wall should it be placed?
*18 Explain the difference between a real and a virtual image.
*19 In each of the following cases state whether the light is parallel, converging, or
diverging:
(a) Light from a light bulb.
(b) Light from a light bulb reflected from a mirror.
(c) Light from a star.
(d) Light from a star reflected from a concave mirror.
(e) Light from a star reflected from a plane mirror.
Figure 17.24 (f) Light from a star reflected from a convex mirror.
For question 27. (g) Light from a bulb placed at the focal point of a concave mirror.
(h) Light from a bulb placed at the focal point of a convex mirror.
**20 A 1.0 cm high object is placed 10 cm in front of a concave mirror of 7.0 cm focal
length.
(a) Draw a ray diagram to find the position of the image.
(b) Describe the nature of the image.
(c) Use the mirror formula to find the exact position of the image.
(d) Use the magnification formula to find the height of the image.
Figure 17.25 **21 A dentist wishes to use a concave mirror to view a patients teeth. If he wants
For question 28. the image to be twice as large as the object and upright when the mirror is
placed 2.0 cm from the teeth, what focal length mirror is needed?
(a)
2 cm **22 Students doing experiments with convex mirrors place a small candle 15 cm in
O front of the mirror. They are able to see a smaller image of the candle in the
Point O mirror but are unable to produce an image on a screen.
(a) Explain why an image could not be formed on the screen. (Use a ray diagram.)
(b) What sort of image is it?
(c) If the focal length of the mirror was 20 cm, calculate the position of the
image.
*23 Large diverging mirrors are used for security purposes in small shops. They are
placed in the corners. What are the advantages of these mirrors for this purpose?
(b)
3 cm X
**24 A student places a 5.0 cm high candle 20 cm in front of a concave mirror. The
image is formed on a screen placed 40 cm from the mirror.
(a) What is the focal length of the mirror?
(b) What is the size of the image?
3.9 cm
(c) Is the image virtual or real?
(d) Is the image upright or inverted?
*25 You are unable to see your reflection in a dull, unpolished car; however, if the
Y
4 cm car is polished you can see your image. You have not changed the material
Ray YX structure of the car so why does this occur?
*26 When you go for your drivers licence you are required to read an eye chart.
(c) Issuing centres use plane mirrors to make sure the correct distance between the
B chart and the observer is maintained. If a distance of 6.0 m is required describe
2 cm Triangle ABC characteristics of the physical set-up of the chart and mirror as well as the chart
A 3 cm itself to obtain this situation.
3.5 cm
*27 Why do some police cars and ambulances have the words on their fronts as
2 cm C shown in Figure 17.24?
1 cm
**28 Draw a reasonably accurate ray diagram to find the image of objects in the three
cases shown in Figure 17.25.

**29 Figure 17.26 shows the position of two mirrors at 45 to each other. A ball is
placed at point X. Draw ray diagrams to find the image of the ball in the mirrors.
Figure 17.26
For question 29.
1 cm
X
2 cm
45
**30 Figure 17.27 indicates a light ray making an angle of 40 with the mirror. If the Figure 17.27
For question 30.
mirror is rotated so the ray now makes an angle of 10 with the mirror, through
what angle does the reflected ray move? final position
*31 Figure 17.28 shows a satellite dish used for receiving TV signals. of mirror
(a) What shape should the dish be?

(b) Where should the signal detector (aerial) be situated? Why?
40
(c) What features of the dish should be changed to improve its performance?
original
*32 Construct a table for concave mirrors showing the position of the object from position of
outside the centre of curvature to inside the focus, the size of the image, the 10 mirror
position of the image, the nature of the image, and whether it is upright or
inverted.
*33 If you were sitting at the breakfast table and a piece of dust flew into your eye,
Figure 17.28
explain how you could use a spoon to observe a larger image of your eye to help For question 31.
remove the dust particle.
*34 Some solar hot water systems use curved enclosures/supports to hold black PVC curved dish
pipe in which water flows. (See Figure 17.29.) Discuss the purpose of these shiny signal
curved enclosures and the positioning of the black PVC pipe. detector
*35 Figure 17.30 (opposite) shows an object with several rays reflecting from a
convex mirror. Which of the rays are correctly drawn?
*36 Students going on a hike from an outdoor education centre decide to heat their
food by making a solar cooker out of sheets of aluminium foil.
(a) What shape should they press the foil into?
(b) Where should the food be placed?
**37 In a laboratory experiment, students measured the position of the image of a
small 4.0 cm high candle with respect to a concave mirror, and the magnification
of the candle by measuring the size of the real image produced on a screen.
Table 17.1 shows the results obtained.
Figure 17.29
For question 34.
Ta b l e 1 7 . 1 hot water
black hose
Image distance (cm) 60 37.5 26.3 24 21.4 20 18.5
Image height (cm) 12 6 3 2.4 1.7 1.3 1.0
Magnification
(a) Complete the table. reflecting

cool water
surface
(b) Plot the graph of magnification verses image distance.
(c) Find the magnification when the image distance is 45 cm.
(d) Find the image distance when the magnification is 0.50.
(e) From the graph, find the focal length of the mirror.

Figure 17.30
For question 35. A
B
E F 2f
D

***38 A plane mirror and a convex mirror are placed facing each other and 50 cm
apart. A candle is placed on the principal axis 20 cm from the plane mirror, as
shown in Figure 17.31. If the distance between the two images in the plane
mirror is 40 cm, calculate the focal length of the convex mirror.
Figure 17.31
For question 38.
20 cm
50 cm
***39 An object is placed 20 cm in front of a convex mirror of focal length 30 cm.

A plane mirror is placed between the object and the mirror so that the image
of the top half of the object in the convex mirror and the bottom half of the
object in the plane mirror coincide. What distance is the plane mirror from the
convex mirror?
***40 A candle is placed in front of a concave mirror whose focal length is 20 cm.
Find the position of the object and the image if (a) a virtual image of twice
the size of the object is produced; (b) a real image of twice the size of the
object is produced.
***41 Students determining the focal length of a concave mirror obtained the
measurements listed in Table 17.2 for the distances of the object and the image
formed on the screen. Plot the graph of image distance against object distance
to determine the focal length of the mirror.
Ta b l e 1 7 . 2
Object distance (cm) 60 50 40 30 25 20 15 10
Image distance (cm) 9.2 9.5 10 10.9 11.8 13.3 17.1 40

CHAPTER 18
Refraction
18.1 INTRODUCTION
Refraction is a property of waves that has been with us since time began. The refraction of
light waves and radio waves through the universe has gone on since the beginning of the uni-
verse. Early hunters and spearfishermen used the refractive properties of water to accurately
spear fish. However, the use of refraction, particularly in the fields of communication and
medicine, has increased beyond belief over the past two decades. The development of optical
fibres has revolutionised the way we receive telephone calls and TV programs (pay TV), and
has reduced the time we spend in hospital with exploratory surgery.
But what is refraction?
How do optical fibres rely on refraction?
Why are optical fibres in so much demand today?
There are many uses made of optical fibres can you name a few?
Questions related to everyday phenomena and which can be explained by refraction
include these:
Why do swimming pools or clear mountain streams seem shallower than they are?
What causes mirages?
Did you know a rainbow can only be observed when the rain is in front of you and
the Sun is behind you?
Did you know that the glass frogs of Central America, whose bodies are so transparent you
can see their insides, use refraction to vanish from sight when they slip into the water?
These questions and many more odd characteristics of the way light travels can be
answered by a study of the refraction of light. By the end of this chapter many interesting
phenomena will be able to be discussed with a knowledge of refraction.
18.2 REFRACTION
Recall the definition of refraction it is the changing in direction of waves as they go from
one medium to another. For water waves this meant that the direction of propagation of
waves changed when they travelled from one depth of water to another. For light, refraction
occurs when light passes from one medium to another, such as when light rays pass from air
to water, from air to glass or from glass to water. This direction change can be easily observed
in the case of light the light rays themselves bend at the boundary between the media.
A definition of refraction for light thus becomes:
Refraction is the bending of light rays at the boundary or interface, as they go

from one medium to another.
Activity 18.1 REFRACTION

1 Use a light box with a narrow aperture to produce a single light ray.
2 Shine this ray at an angle other than 90 onto a block of glass.
3 What happens to the ray as it goes from air to glass?

Photo 18.1 You should have noticed that the ray bent as it entered the glass and bent again on exiting
The refraction of light as it passes from the other side. (See Photo 18.1.) It has been refracted twice. If the normal had been
through a block of glass.
drawn to the surface of the glass at the point the ray entered the glass, it would have also
been noticed that the ray bent closer to the normal in the glass on entering and further from
the normal on exiting.
We call the ray that strikes the glass the incident ray, and the ray that bends in the
glass the refracted ray. The angle between the incident ray and the normal is the angle
of incidence (i) and the angle between the refracted ray and the normal is the angle of
refraction (r) (Figure 18.1).
air glass
i1 > r1
i2 r2
normal
normal i2 < r 2
Figure 18.1 i1 r1
Light is refracted as it passes through
glass, bending towards the normal in
the more dense medium, and away in
the less dense medium.
At the second surface, the surface where the ray passes from glass to air, the ray in the
air is the refracted ray and the ray in the glass is the incident ray.
If Perspex is used instead of glass, similar refraction occurs except that for the same
angle of incidence the angle of refraction will be different.
Similar effects are observed using any transparent material. The refracted ray bends
towards the normal when the light travels from air to the material. The amount the rays
bend depends on the optical density of the material. Optical density has nothing to do with
physical density mass, volume, etc. but with the ability of light to pass through it.
A general rule is that light rays bend toward the normal when they go from a less
optically dense medium to a more optically dense medium. The reverse is also true
light rays bend away from the normal as they pass from a more optically dense medium
to a less optically dense medium. This illustrates the reversibility properties of light rays
through a refractive system.
The amount of refraction that occurs results from the changing speed of light as it goes
from air to the medium. (This was shown, using water waves, in Chapter 14.) Light travels
faster in a vacuum or in air than in glass, water, etc. This is shown in Table 18.1.
P H Y S I C S FA C T Ta b l e 1 8 . 1 T H E V E L O C I T Y O F L I G H T I N VA R I O U S M E D I A O F
DIFFERENT REFRACTIVE INDICES
Diamonds have one of the
highest refractive indices of all
MEDIUM VELOCITY OF LIGHT IN THE MEDIUM, v ABSOLUTE REFRACTIVE INDEX OF THE
substances. The pioneer in (10 8 m s 1) MATERIAL, n
making fake diamonds was
Air 3.00 1.00
teenager Carroll Chatham, who
Ice 2.31 1.30
in 1926 dissolved some graphite
Water 2.26 1.33
in molten iron and dropped the
fiery solution into a vat of Ethyl alcohol 2.21 1.36
liquid nitrogen (196C). Fused quartz 2.05 1.46
Instead of getting diamonds, Perspex 2.00 1.49
the explosion blew out the Benzene 2.00 1.50
windows in his San Franscisco Crown glass 1.97 1.52
home. Later he had success and Light flint glass 1.90 1.58
his son Tom now produces Heavy flint glass 1.82 1.65
synthetic diamonds that have Zircon 1.58 1.90
similar RI to the real ones.
Diamond 1.24 2.42
Refraction 401
The effect can be explained by use of the analogy of a car hitting a flooded section of a
road. As one of the cars front wheels hits the water it slows down while the other wheel
keeps going at the original speed. Therefore the direction of the car changes (if allowed). It
bends into the water. (See Figure 18.2.) The cars direction changes. The new direction of the
car will be closer to the normal and it will slow down.
reflected
Figure 18.2
light road As the wheels of the car enter the
ray
ray water they slow down and swerve
wheel
towards the normal.
air
glass
water
refracted
ray
The ratio of the velocity of light in air to the velocity of light in a different medium
water, glass, etc. is constant. This constant is called the absolute refractive index of the
material and is denoted by the symbol n. That is:
va
=n
vm
where va is the velocity of light in air; vm is the velocity of light in the medium.
The refractive indices of several common materials are shown in Table 18.1. Notice that
since n is a ratio it has no units.
Questions
1 Use Table 18.1 to see if you obtain the correct refractive index of the material by
dividing the velocity of light in air by the velocity of light in the material.
2 Calculate the index of refraction for light going from air to a material in which
its speed is (a) 2.6 108 m s1; (b) 1.8 108 m s1; (c) 3.4 108 m s1.
(Is answer (c) possible? Explain!)
3 Calculate the speed of light in a medium whose refractive index is (a) 1.5;
(b) 2.4; (c) 1.3.
18.3 S N E L L S L AW
In 1621 a Dutch mathematician, Willebrod Snell (15911626), discovered that the refrac-
tive index of a substance can be found using the angles of incidence and refraction. He found
that if the angle of incidence was changed, the angle of refraction also changed in such a way
that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is
always a constant for a particular material. This constant is the absolute refractive index of
the material.
sin i = n
sin r
This is known as Snells law.

For example, for a ray of light entering a block of glass, the ratio sin i = 1.5 for all
values of i. Therefore the refractive index of glass nag or just ng = 1.5. sin r

The refractive indices given in Table 18.1 are the absolute refractive indices. They are
the refractive indices obtained when a light ray travels from air to the material. Knowing the
value of the absolute refractive index and the angle of incidence, the angle of refraction can
be determined.
Example
Light from a light box is shone onto a block of Perspex at an angle of 30 to the normal.
Determine the angle of refraction.
Solution
nPerspex = 1.4
sin i = n = 1.4
sin r
sin r = sin i
1.4
= sin 30
1.4
= 0.357
r = 21
Questions
Figure 18.3 4 Use Figure 18.3 to calculate the refractive index of the material.
For question 4.
5 Complete Table 18.2 for light rays passing from air to a different medium.
65 air Ta b l e 1 8 . 2
material A B C D
30
Angle of incidence, i (degrees) 30 60 0
Angle of refraction, r (degrees) 20 40
Refractive index, n 1.8 1.4
(Had a problem with D?)

6 A light ray travels from air to a substance as shown in Figure 18.4. Find the
Figure 18.4 refractive index of the substance.
For question 6. 7 Students conducting experiments to find the absolute refractive index of a piece
of Perspex obtained the results shown in Table 18.3 for the angles of incidence
and refraction.
air
30
45 Ta b l e 1 8 . 3
substance
Angle of incidence, i (degrees) 10 20 30 40 50 60
Angle of refraction, r (degrees) 6.0 13 19 25 30 35
(a) Plot a graph of sin i against sin r.

(b) From the shape of the graph what is the relationship between sin i and sin r?
(c) What is the refractive index of the Perspex?
(d) What is the angle of refraction if the angle of incidence is 54?
Refraction 403
The absolute refractive indices in Table 18.1 are for light going from air to the material,
that is nag. But what is the refractive index of light passing from glass to air nga as shown
at the second surface in Figure 18.1?
Because of the reversible nature of light, angle r1 = angle i2 and angle i1 = angle r2.
Therefore at surface 2:
n ga = sin i 2
sin r 2
= 1
sin r 2
sin i 2
= 1
sin i 1
sin r 1
n ga = 1
n ag
This is called the reciprocal law.

In general, the refractive index of light going from a material to air is the reciprocal of
the absolute refractive index of the material:
1 = 1
n ma =
n am n m
Example
Find the refractive index of light going from glass to air.
Solution
1
n ga =
n ag
= 1
1.50
= 0.67
If a ray of light passes from one medium to another, for example from water to glass, it
is found that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence in water (w) to the sine of the
angle of refraction in glass (g) is also a constant, nwg:
sin w
= n wg
sin g
air Figure 18.5

a How much light rays bend depends on
the optical density of the medium.
w water
w
They bend more in glass than in water.
glass
g
g
a air

From Figure 18.5:
sin a = n
w
sin w
sin a
sin w =
nw
sin g 1
=
sin a n g
sin a
sin g =
ng
sin a
sin w = n w
sin g sin a
ng
sin w n g = n
= wg
sin g n w
In general, the relative refractive index for light passing from medium 1 to medium 2 is
given by the formula:
n 12 = n 2
n1
where n12 is the relative refractive index for light going from medium 1 to medium 2; n2 is
the absolute refractive index for medium 2; n1 is the absolute refractive index for medium 1.
This results in a more general form of Snells law, which can be used for light passing
between any two media:
sin 1 n
= n 1,2 = 2
sin 2 n1
n 1 sin 1 = n 2 sin 2
Example
Find the angle of refraction for a ray of light passing from water to glass when the angle of
incidence in water is 25.
Solution
n w sin w = n g sin g
1.33 sin 25 = 1.5 sin g
1.33 sin 25 = sin
g
1.5
g = 22
Questions
8 See if you obtain the same result for the relative refractive index for light
passing from water to crown glass using nwg = vw/vg and ng/nw.
Refraction 405
9 A drop of soapy water (nsoapy water = 1.38) was placed onto a block of glass Figure 18.6
(ng = 1.5), as shown in Figure 18.6. A ray from a laser was shone onto the water For question 9.
at an angle of 38. Calculate:
(a) the angle of refraction in the soapy water;
38 air
(b) the angle of refraction in the glass;
soapy water
(c) the angle at which the ray exited from the glass;
(d) the relative refractive index of light going from soapy water to glass.
glass
10 In each of the cases shown in Figure 18.7 a light ray travels from a substance,
X, to air. Find the refractive index of the substance.
11 A layer of water (nw = 1.33) is placed on a block of glass (ng = 1.52), as shown in
Figure 18.8. Calculate the angles w and g.
38
air w Figure 18.7
For question 10.
water g (a)
glass
45 air
Figure 18.8 x
For question 11. 30
12 In which of the following will rays of light bend towards the normal?
(b)
(a) Glass to water.
air
(b) Glass to diamond.
(c) Alcohol to water.
10
(d) Perspex to heavy flint glass. 30
x
Colours
Refraction is due to the velocity of light changing as it goes from one medium to another:
(c)
air
nm = va
vm
x
where va is the velocity of light in air; vm is the velocity of light in the material. vx = 2.4 10 m s
8 1
Since v = f and the frequency of waves does not change as they go from one medium to
another, then:
(d)
air
va fa
nm = = = a
vm fm m
c
x
This results in each colour of light having a slightly different absolute refractive index.
This means that if white light is shone on the surface of a block of glass, for example,
the angle of refraction for each colour will be slightly different. The colours will separate c = 47
slightly. If this occurs at a second surface, such as the second surface of a prism as shown in
Figure 18.9, the effect is increased, resulting in a very visible separation of the colours of
light. This phenomenon is known as dispersion. (See Photo 18.2 and colour section.) The
colour pattern formed is called a spectrum. Notice that violet light is refracted the most and
red the least.

Figure 18.9 red nred = 1.515

Because the different colours of
orange nyellow = 1.517
light have different refractive
indices they separate when yellow nblue = 1.523
passing through a prism, creating a green nviolet = 1.533
spectrum (see also colour section).
white blue
light indigo
violet
Photo 18.2 In summary:

A continuous spectrum produced
by the refraction of white light
sin 1 n v
by a prism (see also colour section). = n 1,2 = 2 = 1 = 1
sin 2 n1 v2 2
EXAMPLES OF REFRACTION 18.4

A fish eye view To a fish or underwater diver, a tree on the shore would appear to be up in
the air and objects would appear to be in different positions from where they actually are
because of refraction. However, certain fish have overcome these apparent positional changes
to still be able to shoot down insects by squirting a high pressure jet of water from their
mouths toward their prey, which can be up to 3 m above the surface. These fish must take
account of refraction with a great deal of precision to enable them to aim from under the
water to make a hit on an insect. Once hit, the insect falls to the water, where it becomes a
meal for these incredible marksmen.
image
Figure 18.10
Because of refraction, fish see
objects at positions that differ
from their true positions.
air object
water surface
water
Figure 18.11
Light entering our atmosphere is
refracted by layers of differing density,
producing an apparent shift in the
position of the stars.
image
Astronomers Like the water-squirting fish, astronomers have to make allowances for refrac-
of Sun tion when observing stars. Light from the stars travels in straight lines through the vacuum
of space until it enters the Earths atmosphere where it is refracted. The atmosphere of Earth
is a more dense medium than the vacuum of space. Stars appear to be at different positions
in the sky from where they actually are.
Sun
This occurs with light from our Sun. However, since the refractive index for light travel-
ling from space to our atmosphere is only 1.000 29, Figure 18.11 has been exaggerated. The
observed position of the Sun is only about 0.5 or one Suns diameter higher in the sky than
density of air its real position. Since it takes the Earth about 2 minutes to rotate through 0.5 we gain
decreases with
Earth altitude approximately 4 minutes of extra sunlight a day due to refraction at sunrise and sunset.
Refraction 407
Apparent depth The refraction of light results in objects in different media appearing to be
closer than they are. For example, a toy at the bottom of a pool will appear to be closer to
the surface than it really is, to an observer standing above the pool. (See Figure 18.12.)
Figure 18.12
Because of refraction objects appear
closer to the surface of a pool than
they actually are.
air
water
apparent
real depth depth
image
object
Light rays travelling from the toy to your eyes are refracted away from the normal at the
waters surface. To your eyes and brain, which trace these rays back to where they appear to
meet, the object appears to be closer to the surface than it actually is. This depth is called
the apparent depth. It can be derived that:
true depth = n
apparent depth
Figure 18.13
The pencil appears bent because the
parts of the pencil under water appear
closer to the surface.
air
water
In 1621, French scientist Rene
Descartes published a diagram
This is why a pencil placed in water appears to be bent. (See Figure 18.13.) showing the refraction and total
Rays from the tip of the pencil are refracted away from the normal at the surface of the internal reflection of light in a
water. On tracing them back they appear to come from the image of the tip of the pencil, raindrop. Redraw a big circle like
which is closer to the surface. the one in the diagram and
show the path of the parallel
Example sunlight rays A, B and C that
A stone at the bottom of a pool in a creek appears to be 1.2 m from the surface. What is the strike the drop at the 9, 10 and
true depth of the pool? (nw = 1.33) 11 oclock positions. Assume
nglass = 1.5.
Solution
C
true depth = n B
apparent depth
true depth = 1.33 A
1.2
true depth = 1.6 m

Questions
13 A student on a biology field trip dropped a coin in a creek. The depth of the
water appeared to be 75 cm so he rolled up his sleeves to retrieve the money.
What would be the consequences of such an action? Explain! (The refractive
index of water is 1.33.)
TOTA L I N T E R N A L R E F L E C T I O N 18.5
(a) refracted (b) (c) (d)

(d) (e)(e)
ray
r r r
air air air 90 air
90 air airair
water water water water
water water
water
i i i cc r r
where
where

i >i >
reflected
ray
Figure 18.14 As previously discussed a ray of light bends toward the normal when going from a less dense
When light passes from a more dense to
to a more dense medium. The opposite is also true. Rays will bend away from the normal when
a less dense medium it bends away from
the normal. However, after the refracted going from a more dense to a less dense medium, as was shown in Figure 18.1. This results
ray = 90 the incident ray is totally in an odd situation as the angle of incidence increases as shown in Figure 18.14. There comes
reflected, producing total internal
a stage where the angle of refraction is 90 (Figure 18.14(d)). The angle of incidence that
reflection.
produces this is called the critical angle (c). If the angle of incidence is further increased
the ray of light is entirely reflected from the surface at an angle equal to the angle of
incidence. This is called total internal reflection and occurs when light travels from a more
optically dense medium to a less optically dense medium and the angle of incidence is greater
that the critical angle.
For a ray of light going from water to air:
sin w = n = 1
wa
sin a nw
When the angle of incidence w is equal to the critical angle c, the refracted angle a = 90,
and sin 90 = 1, then:
sin c = 1
nw
Example
Find the critical angle for a light ray passing from light flint glass to (a) air; (b) water.
Solution
(a)
sin c = 1
ng
= 1
1.58
c = 39
Refraction 409
(b)
n 1 sin 1 = n 2 sin 2 N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
1.58 sin c = 1.33 sin 90 When you squeeze the air out of
a plastic soft-drink bottle while
sin c = 1.33 sin 90 it is under water, bubbles rise to
1.58 the surface. Predict what they
c = 57.3 would look like when observed
from the waters surface. Think
about air lenses and total
Total internal reflection can be demonstrated easily by using a semicircular block of glass internal reflection. Youd be very
and a light box. (See the Photo 18.3.) surprised!
The block is placed on a sheet of white paper and a ray from a light box is directed onto
the centre of the semicircular block; the ray entering the glass, as it is along a radius, is then
perpendicular to the surface. Therefore no refraction occurs at the first surface. However,
refraction occurs at the second surface and the ray bends away from the normal. As the angle
of incidence at this surface is increased, the angle of refraction also increases. (Notice that
you will start to see a faint reflected beam from this surface as light is both reflected Photo 18.3
and refracted from transparent surfaces.) When the angle of incidence is approximately Total internal reflection produced
by light passing from glass to air.
42, the refracted beam will be along the straight surface of the block of glass; that is, the This occurs when the angle of incidence
angle of refraction is 90. If the angle of incidence is made slightly greater, the refracted is greater than the critical angle.
beam disappears as the light beam is reflected back inside the block of glass at an angle equal The refraction of light through a
semicircular block of glass showing total
to the angle of incidence. (See the Photo 18.3.) This is total internal reflection. internal reflection.
Questions
14 In each of the following situations where a light ray passes from one medium to Figure 18.15
another state whether it is possible for total internal reflection to take place. For question 15.
Explain.
ice
(a) Air to glass. (d) Flint glass to air.
(b) Diamond to air. (e) Ice to a vacuum.

(c) Water to glass. (f) Crown glass to Perspex. crownglass
15 A block of ice is placed on top of a semicircular block of crown glass (Figure
18.15). At what minimum angle would all light incident on the boundary
between the two surfaces be reflected?
16 A ray of light travels from one medium to another. It is found that total internal
reflection occurs when the incident angle is greater than 54. If the refractive Figure 18.16
For question 17.
index of the first medium is 1.49, calculate the refractive index of the second
medium. air
(ii)
17 Students investigating total internal reflection using a semicircular block of
glass notice that before total internal reflection occurs there is a faint reflected i (iii)
(i) glass
beam. Comment on the intensity of beams (i), (ii) and (iii) in Figure 18.16 as
the angle of incidence increases.

Figure 18.17
Because of total internal reflection A c t i v i t y 1 8 . 2 U N D E R WAT E R B U B B L E S
prisms are capable of bending
light rays through 90. 1 Hold an empty plastic soft drink bottle upside-down in a bucket of water, an
aquarium, or a swimming pool.
45 2 Squeeze the bottle and watch the air bubbles rise. They look shiny.
3 Why is this?
45
U S E S O F TOTA L I N T E R N A L R E F L E C T I O N 18.6
45
Prisms
A glass 45/45 prism as shown in Figure 18.17 can be used for total internal reflection and
Figure 18.18 has many uses.
Periscopes use total internal
reflection in prisms. Light striking one surface of the prism at right angles makes an angle of 45 with the
second surface. The angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle of 42 and the light
is therefore reflected from this surface. It then strikes the third surface at right angles. The
rays have thus made right-angled turns.
This makes them useful in quality periscopes (Figure 18.18). They have an advantage over
prism mirrors because mirrors produce multiple images as light is reflected from the back and front
surfaces a number of times (Figure 18.19). The coating on mirrors can also flake, reducing the
reflected light intensity.
Prisms are also used in prism binoculars, making these pieces of equipment much more
compact than older telescopes (Figure 18.20). In single lens reflex cameras a pentaprism is
used to reflect the incoming light back to the viewfinder as well as invert it so that the
photographer is actually seeing the light which is entering the camera lens used to form the
Figure 18.19 image on the film.
Quality periscopes use prisms rather
than mirrors because mirrors produce If light is incident at right angles onto the hypotenuse of the prism it is reflected back
multiple images if thick glass is used. the way it came (Figure 18.21). This property of prisms makes them useful for reflectors on
bicycles and cats-eyes on roads. Notice, however, that the rays of light are inverted.
primary
image object Diamonds are cut in similar ways to reflect light incident on them to produce many inter-
nal reflections and thus to sparkle.
weakening
secondary
images
Optical fibres
One of the major developing uses of total internal reflection is in optical fibres. Fibre optics
is a branch of optics dealing with the transmission of light through fibres or thin rods of glass
silvered or some other transparent material of high refractive index. If light is admitted at one end of
back glass
surface mirror a fibre, it can travel through the fibre with very low loss, even if the fibre is curved.
Optical fibres have been around for decades. You might remember, or have seen, those
stringy plastic lights (Fantasy lights) that were the rage back in the 1970s. These consisted
Figure 18.20 of basic optical fibres. (See Photo 18.4.)
A schematic diagram of binoculars
However, the number of medical and communication uses of optical fibres has exploded
using glass prisms.
over the past decade.
eye lens
An optical fibre consists of a very pure glass fibre as thin as a hair 0.125 mm with a layer
of cladding around the outside (Figure 18.22), to protect it from damage and moisture.
The outside layer has a lower refractive index than the inside material, thus creating a
situation where light propagating in the central layer is travelling in a more dense material
prisms than in the outside layer. This means the light is totally internally reflected if it strikes the
boundary between the two media at an angle greater then the critical angle. Thus light is
reflected and reflected and reflected along the length of the fibre, which can be bent into any
shape as long as it is not kinked. Once kinked, surface cracks allow light to refract out. In
objective
underwater cables the glow at the kink attracts fish, which can eat and sever the cable.
lens
Refraction 411
Optical fibres can be made as either step index type where the refractive index changes Figure 18.21
rapidly at the boundary between the core and the cladding, or graded index where there is a 45/45 prisms can also cause light
rays to bend through 180 when the
more gradual change of refractive index from the centre to outside. light is incident on the hypotenuse.
Communication
45
One of the first large commercial users of optical fibres was the telecommunications industry.
Optical fibres were first used in the USA in the 1960s and are now replacing copper conductors
in telephone and cable TV and data systems worldwide. Digital electrical signals are converted
into light pulses and transmitted over optical fibre cable by switching light-emitting or laser
diodes on and off. At the other end, these optical digital pulses are converted back into
electrical signals by photo-transistors. Optical fibres are thinner, cheaper and lighter than
equivalent copper conductors and can carry much more information. One particular fibre optic
cable laid from New Jersey to Britain and France can carry 50 000 simultaneous voice 45
conversations as well as other information, such as ten channels for cable TV and Internet
data. There is no cross-talk between voice conversations and they are almost impossible
to bug. Photo 18.4
It is suggested that Australia has an international fibre optic cable capacity of over one An optical fibre lamp.
terabit per second (1.0 Tb s1). Bandwidth capacity is forecast to increase to over 4 Tb s1 by
2004. The new AustraliaJapan cable connects the east coast of Australia with Japan and
North America. It has doubled existing broadband capacity to the west coast of the United
States and increased the capacity to North Asia 15-fold. Australian domestic networks consist
of fibre-optic, wireless, satellite and microwave systems; but fibre optic is now the pre-
dominant technology. Major fibre optic networks provided by companies such as Telstra,
SingTel-Optus, PowerTel, Uecomm and NextGen connect Sydney and the major east-coast
cities. Total bandwidth capacity of satellites covering Australia is estimated to be 4 Gb s1.
The installation of asymmetric ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology into
local telephone exchanges is connecting businesses and residential homes into a high-speed Figure 18.22
digital broadband network. SingTel-Optus uses a fibre optic cable network (CABLE) which is An optical fibre consists of a thin glass
supported on the local powerline distribution grid. With data speeds from 256 kb s1 to over fibre of higher refractive index than the
outside cladding layer. Thus total internal
2 Mb s1, everyone will have access to Internet speeds 3050 times faster than the standard reflection is used to reflect light pulses
dial-up service. New South Wales carries the majority of Australias Internet traffic. Over 500 along the length of the fibre.
Internet service providers in Australia use Internet Protocol (IP) technology, which mixes
voice, data and video transfer over the same networks. 1
10 mm
narrow
core
Activity 18.3 INTERNET CONNECTIONS
Compare and contrast ADSL, cable and the standard 56K V90 modem. In your discussion cladding
discuss the upload and download speeds of ADSL, cable and dial-up, as well as the pricing
plan for the major Internet service providers in your local area. Are there any other
factors that you need to consider when thinking about installing an Internet connection
into your home and computer system?
Medical
The medical profession was the first to make use of optical fibres. Surgeons use bundles of
fibres to look inside a persons stomach and lungs without surgery. A bundle of fibres is intro-
duced into the stomach via the throat. Light is shone down some of the fibres and reflected
light from the stomach is transmitted back via other fibres. If, for example, an ulcer is
discovered, a laser beam is transmitted down the fibres to burn and seal the ulcer. These
devices are commonly called endoscopes. Most recently fibre optic endoscopes have been
used coupled with colour video cameras and external video monitors to increase ease of view-
ing. (The word endoscope comes from the Greek endo skopion meaning within and to see.)

Other effects of total internal reflection

Mirages
Mirages result from refraction and total internal reflection. On a hot day imaginary pools of
water appear on the road or the desert. As rays of light from the sky reach the ground they
undergo gradual refraction in the layers of hot air above the road. The rays end up hitting the
hot layer just above the ground at an angle greater than the critical angle and thus are
reflected from this layer to the observer who sees the layer as a pool of water. In fact, it is
the reflection of the sky (Figure 18.23).
Figure 18.23
A mirage is formed when light
from the sky is refracted as it
passes through the different air
density layers of air above a hot density
surface. It is reflected from the decreasing
3 4 m
bottom hot layer. thick
hot road
total internal
image
reflection
Rainbows
A rainbow forms when water droplets in the rain refract the sunlight. The process actually
involves two refractions and a total internal reflection (Figure 18.24).
When sunlight from behind the observer strikes rain droplets in front of the observer the
light is refracted on entering the droplet, totally internally reflected, and refracted on leav-
ing. Red light is refracted the least and violet the most, therefore a person on the ground sees
red light from high in the sky and the other colours from raindrops closer to the ground.
raindrop
Figure 18.24
A rainbow is formed when
sunlight undergoes refraction
and reflection inside raindrops.
et
viol
d
re iolet
v
d
re
A blue sky is due to the
Questions
scattering of sunlight. But so is 18 Optical fibres have a less optically dense layer surrounding the fibre so as to
a red sky. produce total internal reflection. If the fibre has a refractive index of 1.70 and
How can you resolve this the outside cladding layer has a refractive index of 1.48:
anomaly? (a) calculate the minimum angle at which light incident on the junction is
totally internally reflected;
(b) find the speed of light in the fibre.
19 A scuba diver working in the ocean looks up to notice the Sun setting on the
horizon. At what angle to the normal to the surface will he need to look?
(nsalt water = 1.38.)
Refraction 413
Activity 18.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS P H Y S I C S FA C T

Have you noticed the green
Write a short report on one of the following topics:
iridescent colours that
Diamonds Why do real diamonds sparkle more than counterfeit ones? In your answer sometimes appear on bacon and
describe the brilliant cut one of the most common styles of faceting a diamond. How corned meat? This is not rotting
many separate facets are there in the brilliant cut and who invented it? meat but is caused by
microscopic droplets of oil and
Endoscopy Fibre optics endoscopy is used for examining the oesophagus, pancreas and
water of differing refractive
bladder, among other organs, to detect the presence of cancer. Name two other medical indices on the surface causing
conditions endoscopy is used for, and say how the endoscope is inserted, and how the the interference of light. If it
doctor views the image. goes really green then thats the
Phone cables Find out the following about fibre optic phone cables: bacteria breaking down the
oxygen transport protein
1 What is the distance between boosters? (myoglobin) to produce green
2 How is the cable joined? compounds. Heat will show the
difference. Heat will make the
3 What is the diameter of a single fibre? oil droplets go away but not the
4 How far underground is the cable buried? green rot.
5 What is multiplexing?
Glass fibre Early trials of optic fibres in medicine were unsuccessful but in 1970 Corning
Glass overcame the problem. What was the problem and how was it solved?
UFO sightings UFO hoaxes have often been achieved by reflectionrefraction phenomena.
Research some of the more famous hoaxes, or try to videotape your own hoax. Late in
the afternoon with the lights out in your house or garage, stand at a window and hold a
torch in one hand. Direct the strong torch beam out of the window. You will be able to see
the transmitted light from the backyard and sky as well as a superimposed reflection of
the torch light in the window. You can make the reflected spot of light hover and shimmer
as if it were out in the yard. A simple video recording of this type of reflection has been
the basis of some famous UFO hoaxes in the past. Try it yourself and have some fun.
Practice questions
*20 For each of the following situations where a light ray passes from one medium to
another, state whether the light ray will bend away from or toward the normal:
(a) Air to water.
(b) Glass to air.
(c) Water to glass.
(d) Diamond to glass.
(e) Flint glass to crown glass.
(f) Perspex to a vacuum.
*21 A light ray strikes the surface of a block of fused quartz at an angle of 54 to
the normal.
(a) Calculate the angle of refraction.
(b) Find the velocity of light in the quartz.
*22 Light from a light box is directed at an angle of 30 onto a block of glass whose
refractive index is 1.5, and then onto the surface of salty water whose refractive
index is 1.4. In which case will the light bend the most?

Figure 18.25 *23 A ray of light is directed onto the surface of a liquid as shown in Figure 18.25.
For question 23. Calculate the speed of the light in the liquid.
*24 Calculate the absolute refractive index for light going from air to a medium
air when the velocity of light in the medium is (a) 2.4 108 m s1;
(b) 1.8 108 m s1; (c) 2.7 108 m s1; (d) 3.6 108 m s1.
*25 What is the relationship between the relative refractive index for light passing
27 from glass to diamond (ngd) and the absolute refractive indices of glass (ng)
liquid
and diamond (nd)?
51
*26 The absolute refractive indices of certain media are (i) 1.78; (ii) 1.2; (iii) 2.1;
(iv) 1.42.
(a) Calculate the speed of light in each of the media.
(b) Which substance is the most optically dense?
*27 The refractive indices of flint glass and turpentine are 1.65 and 1.5 respectively.
(a) Calculate the refractive index for light passing from turpentine to flint glass.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E (b) If the angle of incidence in the turpentine is 49 calculate the angle of
refraction in the flint glass.
Have you ever taken a photo
of reflections in a still pool of
*28 Red light from a laser of wavelength 633 nm is used in refraction experiments.
water? Imagine you What is the wavelength of this light in glass? (ng = 1.5.)
photographed some wallabies **29 Biology students on a rocky shore excursion notice that a shell in a rock pool
resting next to a still dam. appears to be 50 cm from the surface of the water, but a physics student informs
How could you tell which way to them this is not correct.
hold the photo if the reflection (a) What depth is the rock pool really? (The refractive index of water is 1.33.)
was a perfect copy? (b) How is the real depth influenced by the fact that it is salt water rather than
fresh water?
**30 A mirage is formed when light from the sky passing through cool layers of air
into hotter layers just above the road is totally internally reflected. Calculate
the critical angle for light travelling from cool air to hot air. (ncool air = 1.0004
and nhot air = 1.0002.)
**31 Through what surface area can a fish see if it is 5.0 m deep in sea water?
(nsw = 1.38.)
**32 A pulse of light enters an optical fibre of refractive index 1.53. What is the
refractive index of the cladding material if the critical angle required is 82?
**33 The index of refraction for glass is different for different colours of light. The
refractive index for blue light ( = 430 nm) passing from air into flint glass is
1.650 and for red light ( = 680 nm) is 1.615. If a beam containing blue and red
light is shone onto a block of flint glass at an angle of 52, find the angle
between the blue and the red rays in the glass.
Figure 18.26 *34 In each of the four cases shown in Figure 18.26, a light ray travels from air to
For question 34. the substance. Use the diagrams to find the refractive index of the substances.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
50 45
air air air air
20
30
substance x
40 substance x
substance x 15 substance x
Refraction 415
**35 Students experimenting with an unknown transparent substance used a light

box to produce a ray of light. They shone the ray onto the unknown substance
at various angles and measured the angles of refraction. Refer to Table 18.4.
Ta b l e 1 8 . 4
Angle of incidence, i (degrees) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Angle of refraction, r (degrees) 10 15 20 24 27 30 31
(a) Redraw the table including values of sin i and sin r.

(b) Plot a graph of sin i against sin r.
(c) What shape graph was obtained?
(d) What is the relationship that exists between sin i and sin r?
(e) From this graph find the refractive index of the substance.
(f) What is the substance?
*36 Complete the diagrams shown in Figure 18.27 where a ray of light passes from
air to a block of glass.
(a) (b) (c) (d) Figure 18.27

For question 36.
45
45
(e) (f) (g) (h)
70 25
45
45
37 A ray of light strikes the surface of a beaker of water at the centre of the
surface. If the ray hits the bottom of the beaker 4.0 cm from the centre
(refer to Figure 18.28), calculate the angle of incidence. (nw = 1.33.)
Figure 18.28
For question 37.
air
water
10 cm
4 cm

Figure 18.29 **38 Students were given the task of finding the critical angle for light passing from
For question 38. kerosene to air. They filled a semicircular container with kerosene and used a
air light box to produce a single ray. They intended to shine the ray through the
r curved side of the container onto the centre of the straight edge and gradually
i increase the angle of incidence until the refracted ray was along the straight
edge. (Refer to Figure 18.29.) However, before they finished the experiment the
power went out, but they did take some measurements before this happened.
container Refer to Table 18.5. Graphically find the critical angle.
filled with
ray kerosene Ta b l e 1 8 . 5
from
light box Angle of incidence, i (degrees) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Angle of refraction, r (degrees) 13 22 30 38 47 57 70

***39 A beam from a laser strikes the surface of a 5.0 cm thick block of Perspex at an
angle of 41 to the normal. Find the perpendicular distance between the original
direction of the beam and the direction of the beam as it leaves the Perspex.
(See Figure 18.30.)
Figure 18.30
For question 39.
41
air
5 cm Perspex
Figure 18.31
For question 40.
air x
air
***40 A 45/45 heavy flint glass prism is placed in a beaker of water. A ray of light
45 water from a light box is incident on one side of the prism. (Refer to Figure 18.31.)
Analyse the passage of this ray through the water and the glass prism.
heavy tint
(ng = 1.62, nw = 1.33.) Use a labelled diagram to show the passage of the light ray.
45
glass **41 A beam of white light is shone onto a glass prism such that the angle with the
second surface is the critical angle for yellow light. (Refer to Figure 18.32.)
air Analyse what occurs to the beam of white light.
ray **42 In one of his first optics experiments, Newton laid two prisms and a sheet of
of light paper on a bench; from overhead they appeared as in Figure 18.33.
He allowed a beam of white light to enter from the left (shown by the
arrow), where it split into its colours and fell on to the second prism. What
Figure 18.32 will you see on the paper screen on the right, lying flat on the bench?
For question 41.
white c for yellow

light light
Figure 18.33
For question 42.
air
paper screen
air glass prism
**43 (a) The plastic rings holding a six-pack of beer stubbies together is made from
polythene. It has the same refractive index as sea water, as a result of which
animals often eat them or get stuck in them. Propose as many ways as you
can of solving this problem. We can think of at least four.
(b) The velocity of light is less in saltwater than in fresh. What would a rainbow
look like in a saltwater spray?
Refraction 417
CHAPTER 19
Lenses
19.1 INTRODUCTION
Did you know that the earliest eyeglasses were thick convex lenses, which reminded their
makers of lentils, hence the term lens, from the Latin for lentil beans?
Lenses play a major part in everyday life and in the scientific world. They are present in
spectacles, contact lenses, microscopes, telescopes, overhead projectors, and photocopiers,
to name a few. Simple lenses are used in science classes for mineral identification and for map
reading in geography.
Lenses are transparent devices that refract light. Differently shaped lenses refract light
differently. Once they were made of glass but now, to reduce the weight, many lenses are
made of plastic. Magnetic lenses are used to focus charged particles in particle physics. Eyes
of animals contain lenses made of organic material that can change shape to produce a range
of depth of vision.
At the end of this chapter you may be able to answer questions such as these:
What devices around me rely on lenses of various types?
If lenses refract light why dont we see colours when using spectacles due to the fact
that each colour of light is refracted differently?
19.2 SHAPE OF LENSES

Lenses are curved pieces of glass or plastic in many shapes, although they all serve a similar
purpose they refract or bend light in one way or another. Several shapes are shown in
Figure 19.1. However, the ones most commonly used are biconcave (concave) or biconvex
(convex) lenses.
Figure 19.1
Some of the different shapes
of lenses.
biconcave biconvex concave convex

(concave) (convex) meniscus meniscus
One common feature of all lenses is that light incident on the lens always bends
toward the thickest part. Recall the refraction of light through a prism (Figure 19.2). Light is
refracted toward the normal at the first surface and away from the normal at the second
surface. The overall effect is that light always bends toward the thickest part of the prism.

normal
Figure 19.2
Light through a prism always
refracts toward the thickest normal
part of the prism.
light light
ray ray
We can regard a lens as being a system of tiny prisms of slightly different shapes, so that
light rays are refracted at both sides of the lens, which results in the bending of light rays
toward the thickest part. This makes light rays incident on a convex lens bend toward the
centre, thus focusing or converging the light. This type of lens is therefore also called a
converging lens. Light incident on a concave lens spreads or diverges the light. This lens is
also called a diverging lens (Figure 19.3).
Figure 19.3
Lenses can be considered to be
made up of tiny prisms, thus light
will always refract to the thickest
part of the lens.
F F
Other shaped lenses produce effects that depend on their shape. Note: refraction occurs
at both sides of the lens but to simplify the drawing of ray diagrams we will draw a line
through the centre of the lens and have all refraction occur at this line.
F E AT U R E S O F L E N S E S 19.3
Similar terms to those associated with mirrors are used in describing lenses. Each face of the
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E lens can be drawn using a compass. The centre of the circle that produces the curved surface
is called the centre of curvature. Each face can have a different curvature. However, for our
You have made an air lens by discussions we will use lenses whose sides have the same radius of curvature. The line join-
taping two watchglasses
ing the centre of curvature through the optical centre of the lens is called the principal axis.
together. This does nothing
If rays of light parallel to the principal axis are incident on a convex lens the rays converge
in air but what will it do
underwater? Myopic people see
to a point on the other side of the lens the principal focus (F). Since lenses can be used
better underwater account either way around they have two focal points, one on either side of the lens. If rays of light
for this. parallel to the principal axis are incident on a concave lens they diverge. However, if these
water rays are traced back they appear to come from a point on the same side of the lens as the
light originates. This is a virtual focus. The distance from the focal point to the optical cen-
tre of the lens is the focal length (f). More powerful lenses have shorter focal lengths and
? are much thicker (Figures 19.4 and 19.5).
Lens makers use the unit of the dioptre (D) to define the optical power of a lens. This
is equivalent to the reciprocal of the focal length (in metres). For example, the optical power
two watchglasses
of a 20 cm focal length convex lens is 1/0.20, which equals +5 D. For a concave lens this
taped together becomes 1/0.20 = 5 D. The term power in this case refers to the ability of the lens to
and full of air
refract light. High power lenses will refract light to a greater degree than low power lenses.
Lenses 419
(a) (b) Figure 19.4

Features of convex (a) and
principle concave (b) lenses.
focus F optical
optical rays centre (C)
principal axis curvature principal axis
centre of
focal
optical length f focal
centre (C) length f
19.4 R AY D I A G R A M S A N D I M A G E S
If you look through a magnifying glass (a convex lens) at an object you can see the object. Figure 19.5
In actual fact you are only seeing the image of the object. This can be easily verified if you Thick lenses have smaller focal lengths
than thin lenses and are more powerful.
look at an object a long distance away while holding the lens at arms length. The image is
upside-down. parallel rays of light
principal focus
convex image is real

lens and inverted
Figure 19.6
Images of distant objects are inverted,
indicating that when you look through
a lens you are observing the image
and not the object itself.
Ray diagrams
Ray diagrams can be drawn to find the position and nature of an image. Again, any number
of rays can be drawn to determine the position and nature of the image but many would
require the use of protractors, many calculations, and measurements of the angles of refrac-
tion at both surfaces to produce an accurate ray diagram. However, three easily drawn rays
are most commonly used to simplify the drawing of ray diagrams (Figure 19.7).
Figure 19.7
optical centre (C) The three rays that are used to find the
object 1 object 1 image produced by a lens: one parallel
3 2 to the principle axis (1), one through
F principal axis 3 the focal point (2), and one through
F F image F the optical centre of the lens (3).
2
principal image principal optical
focus focus centre (C)

1 The ray parallel to the principal axis refracts through the principal focus for a convex
lens, and appears to come from the focus for the concave lens.
A man wakes up and his digital 2 A ray through the focus refracts parallel to the principal axis for the convex lens. For
clock reads 5:20. He then a concave lens the ray that is lined up with the focus on the opposite side refracts
realises that there is a glass of
parallel to the principal axis.
water in front of the display
3 The ray through the centre of the lens continues unchanged in direction.
acting like a convex lens, and
he has arisen too early.
Remember, to find the position of the image requires the use of two rays. The third can be
What is the real time? Use a used to double-check.
diagram to show this.
Images in convex lenses
Figure 19.8 shows a few examples of ray diagrams. The object has been placed at various
positions with respect to the convex lens greater than 2f, at 2f, between 2f and F, and
between F and the lens (Figure 19.8).
Figure 19.8 (a) (b)
(a) When the object is outside 2f the
image produced is: real, inverted, object
image
smaller, and between F and 2f on the F F F F
opposite side of the lens. (b) When the
2f 2f 2f 2f
object is at 2f the image produced is:
real, inverted, the same size, and at
2f on the opposite side of the lens.
(c) When the object is between 2f
and F, the image produced is: real, (c) (d)
inverted, larger, and outside 2f on the
opposite side of the lens. (d) When the image
object is between F and the lens, the F F F F
image produced is: virtual, upright,
larger, and between F and the lens on 2f 2f 2f 2f
the same side of the lens. object
Notes:
As an object moves toward F the image moves out and increases in size.
When the object is between F and the lens a virtual image is formed.
Characteristics of the image

The terms used to describe the image are identical to those used for mirrors: real or virtual,
upright or inverted, and smaller or larger.
In the previous examples:
In Figure 19.8(a): the image is real (as the rays pass through the image), inverted, dimin-
ished, and between F and 2f on the opposite side of the lens.
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E In Figure 19.8(b): the image is real, inverted, the same size, and at 2f on the opposite side
A concave mirror and a convex of the lens.
lens are placed in water. In Figure 19.8(c): the image is real, inverted, larger, and outside 2f on the opposite side of
Does their focal length change the lens.
and if so, why? In Figure 19.8(d): the image is virtual (as the rays do not actually pass through the image),
upright, larger, and between F and the lens on the same side of the lens.
Images in concave lenses

The same three rays can be used to find the position and nature of an image in a concave
lens. However, two important rules must be remembered:
The rays always bend toward the thickest part of the lens.
The focal point, the point where light rays parallel to the principal axis converge
(or appear to come from), is on the same side of the lens as the object.
Figure 19.9 shows the use of rays to find the position and characteristics of the image in a
concave lens.
Lenses 421
(a) (b)
this ray lines up
Figure 19.9
(a) When the object is at a
with the focus this ray lines up distance from the concave lens, the
on the other side with the focus image produced is virtual, upright,
on the same side object smaller, and between F and the lens
as the object on the same side of the lens.
(b) When the object is close to a
F F the eye F F concave lens, the image produced is
object image traces image virtual, upright, smaller, and between
these F and the lens, on the same side of
rays back the lens.
It will be noticed that whatever the distance of the object, even close to the lens, the
image is virtual, upright, smaller and between the lens and F on the same side as the object.
Concave lenses always produce these types of images no matter where the object is placed.
Questions
1 Complete Table 19.1 indicating the nature and position of the image as the object
moves in from a long distance to a point where it is close to the convex lens. Figure 19.10
For question 3.
(a)
Ta b l e 1 9 . 1 N AT U R E O F T H E I M A G E
F
OBJECT POSITION REAL/VIRTUAL INVERTED/UPRIGHT SMALLER/LARGER POSITION OF IMAGE
Outside 2f
(b)
At 2f
Between 2f
and F
At f
(c)
Between F and
the lens
F F
2 The power of a lens depends on its ................... and therefore its ...................
3 Complete the ray diagrams shown in Figure 19.10. (d)
4 An object 5.0 cm high is placed 20 cm from a convex lens of focal length 15 cm.
Draw a ray diagram to scale to find the position and characteristics of the images. F F
5 Use a ray diagram to find the position of the image of an object 25 cm in front
of a concave lens of 10 cm focal length. (Use a scale of 1 cm = 5 cm.)
19.5 T H E L E N S F O R M U L A A N D M A G N I F I C AT I O N
As for mirrors, the position and size of the image can be found mathematically. (See Figure
19.11.)
A u C Figure 19.11
Using similar triangles the lens
Ho B F D and magnification formulae can
2f F Hi be derived.
v E

By using triangles as in Figure 19.11 the formula for the magnification can be derived as:
Plot a graph of v (y-axis)

Hi v
against M (= v/u) on the x-axis M= =
using suitable data. Prove that Ho u
the intercept on the y-axis equals
The lens formula 1 + 1 = 1 can also be derived using this figure,
the focal length. But what does v u f
the slope of the line equal?
Youll be surprised and delighted.
where Ho is the object height; Hi is the image height; u is the object distance from the centre
of the lens; v is the image distance from the centre of the lens; f is the focal length.
Note: When using the magnification formula, use the absolute values of v and u (dont worry
about v being + or ).
Activity 19.1 A SIMPLE PROOF

Use similar triangles as in Figure 19.11 to derive the magnification and lens formulae.
Even though the formulae are derived using a convex lens they also apply to concave
lenses but care needs to be taken in their use in solving problems. Again, since we have
measurements on both sides of a lens, an order convention is required:
All object distances (u) are positive.
Since light passes through lenses, all image distances (v) on the opposite side of
the lens (real images) are positive.
Images formed on the same side of the lens as the object are virtual images, and
their distances are negative.
The focal length (f ) of a convex lens is positive, and of a concave lens is
negative.
All measurements are made from the optical centre of the lens.
Example 1
A small 2.0 cm high candle is placed 50 cm in front of a 20 cm focal length convex lens. Find:
(a) the position of the image;
(b) the magnification;
(c) the height of the image;
(d) the position of the image of the candle if it is placed inside the focal point at a
point 10 cm from the lens.
Solution
(a) 1 + 1 = 1
v u f
1 + 1 = 1
v 50 20
1 = 1 1
v 20 50
= 5 2
100 100
= 3
100
v = 33.3 cm
Lenses 423
The image is at 33.3 cm distance on the other side of the lens.
Hi v
(b) M= =
Ho u
33.3
=
50
= 0.67
(c) H i = 0.67 H o
= 0.67 2
= 1.33 cm
1 1 1
(d) v + u = f
1 1 1
+ 10 = 20
v
1 1 1
= 20 10
v
1 2
= 20 20
1
= 10
v = 10 cm
The image is 10 cm away from the lens and is on the same side of the lens as the object.
Example 2
A small light 4.0 cm high is placed 25 cm in front of a concave lens of 10 cm focal length.
Find (a) the position of the image; (b) the height of the image.
Solution
(a) (Note: since the focal length of a concave lens is negative, f = 10 cm.)
1 1 1
+ =
v u f
1 1 1
+ =
v 25 10
1 1 1
=
v 10 25
5 2
=
50 50
7
=
50
v = 7.1 cm

The image is at 7.1 cm distance on the same side of the lens as the object.
(b) Hi v
=
Ho u
7.1
= 4
25
= 1.1 cm
Questions
6 A small candle (3.0 cm high ) is placed 5.0 cm in front of a convex lens of 20 cm
focal length.
(a) Draw a ray diagram to find the image. Describe its nature.
(b) Use the lens formula to find the location of the image.
(c) Use the magnification formula to find the height of the image.
7 A 5.0 cm high object is placed 30 cm in front of a concave lens of 10 cm focal length.
(b) Find the height of the image.
(c) Describe the image.
8 In each of the following cases draw a ray diagram to find the position and
characteristics of the image.
(a) A 2.0 cm high object is placed 10 cm in front of a 20 cm focal length convex lens.
(b) A 5.0 cm object is placed 18 cm in front of a 6.0 cm focal length concave lens.
(c) A 10 cm high object is placed 50 cm in front of a 25 cm focal length convex lens.
9 A 2.0 cm high object is placed in front of a convex lens. A real image 4.0 cm
high is produced on a screen 30 cm from the lens.
(a) Calculate the magnification. (b) Find the position of the object.
10 Students use a 8.0 cm high candle to produce images using a convex lens. At one
particular object position a 2.0 cm high image is produced on a screen placed
10 cm from the lens.
(a) Calculate the magnification.
(b) Calculate the position of the object.
(c) What is the focal length of the lens?
(d) Describe the image produced.
11 An object 5.0 cm high is placed 1.8 m in front of a convex lens. An image 6.8 cm
high is produced on a screen. Find the focal length of the lens.
DEFECTS IN LENSES 19.6

Spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is the inability of a convex lens to refract rays of light to a precise point.
The word aberration comes from the Latin aberrans, meaning to wander. This is caused by
light rays that strike the outer edges of the lens being refracted more than those near the
middle. This can be overcome by using a stop, which reduces the size of the aperture through
which light can pass so that only the middle portion of the lens is used. It can also be over-
come by using special parabolic lenses, or a combination of lenses as in camera lens systems.
Chromatic aberration
As discussed in Chapter 18, each colour of light is refracted by different amounts, therefore
when white light passes through a prism violet light is refracted more then red light. In the
Lenses 425
case of convex lenses each colour of light is focused to a slightly different point (Figure Figure 19.12
19.12). This produces a coloured haze around images and is called chromatic aberration, Chromatic aberration occurs when each
colour of light is refracted by different
from the Greek word chromo, meaning colour. amounts through a convex lens.
This can be overcome by using a concaveconvex lens combination, as shown in Figure
white
19.13. Since the concave lens diverges light away from the principal axis it tends to cancel light
the effect of chromatic aberration produced by the convex lens. However, the two lenses need blue
red
to be made of different materials, such as flint glass and crown glass, or this effect will still
red
occur. The focal lengths of the two lenses are chosen to produce the desired focal blue
blue red
length of the combination. The new lens is called an achromatic doublet. Today, especially focus focus
in camera lens design, techniques such as multilayer coating onto the lens elements and low
dispersion glasses in the lens elements all contribute to lens systems with very low aberration.
19.7 THE FOCAL LENGTH OF CONVEX LENSES

There are a number of practical methods used to find the focal length of convex lenses: Figure 19.13
Chromatic aberration can be overcome
You could locate the image of an object and then use the lens formula. The most by using an achromatic lens.
accurate way is to move a small candle in until the image distance is the same as the
crown flint glass
object distance. The object and the image are then at 2f. glass
A second method is to use a light box with slits producing a number of parallel rays. combined
focus
The point where these rays converge after passing through the lens is the focal point.
The third method is similar to the second method but without using a light box. This F
involves finding the image of a distant object a building, a tree, or the Sun. Since
rays from these distant objects are just about parallel they will converge to the
focus, producing an image at the focus.
19.8 USES OF LENSES

Magnifying glasses consist of a single convex lens. To produce a large upright image
the object needs to be placed inside the focal point.
As many optical instruments use lenses, the use of these in such things as cameras,
the eye, spectacles, telescopes, microscopes, etc. will be discussed in Chapter 20,
Optical Instruments.
Practice questions
*12 Find the power of the following lenses.
(a) A concave lens of focal length 25 cm. (b) A concave lens of focal length
2.0 m. (c) A convex lens of focal length 20 cm. (d) A convex lens of focal
length 100 cm.
**13 What is the focal length and the type of lens that has an optical power of
(a) 5 D; (b) 10 D; (c) 25 D; (d) 50 D?
**14 What type of lens (a) converges light; (b) can form upright or inverted images;
(c) always forms a virtual image; (d) always forms smaller images; (e) is used in
a magnifying glass?
**15 An object 15 mm high is placed in front of a convex lens of 12 cm focal length.
The image is found 30 cm from the lens. (a) Find the location of the object
(i) using a ray diagram; (ii) using the lens formula. (b) Find the height of the
image (i) using a ray diagram; (ii) using the magnification formula.

**16 A magnifying glass is used to read the fine print on a legal document.
(a) Where should the document be placed in respect to the magnifying glass?
(b) If the lens has a focal length of 20 cm, and the print is 1.0 mm high, find
the size of the image when the lens is placed 15.0 cm above the document.
*17 A 4.0 cm high object is placed 52 cm in front of a convex lens of 25 cm focal
length. Find (a) the position of the image; (b) the height of the image;
(c) the nature of the image; (d) the position of the image if this object is
moved to 10 cm from the lens.
*18 A 10 cm high bulb is placed 20 cm from a concave lens of 20 cm focal length. Find
(a) the position of the image; (b) the magnification; (c) the height of the image.
**19 A thin lens of optical power +2 D was used to read the small print (2.0 mm high)
in a newspaper advertisement. If the paper was placed 20 cm from the lens
(a) state what type of lens was being used; (b) describe the image produced;
(c) find the position of the image; (d) find the height of the image.
**20 In order to take a sharp photograph of a distant object with a camera the
position of the convex lens had to be adjusted until the lens was a distance of
50 mm from the film.
(a) What was the focal length of the camera lens?
(b) This camera was then used to take a photograph of a flower 50 cm from the
camera; what was the distance between the lens and the film then?
* 21 Describe experimentally how you would find the focal length of (a) a convex
lens; (b) a concave lens.
*22 In Figure 19.14 which of the rays are drawn correctly?
Figure 19.14
For question 22. 1
2
34 F
F 5
*23 Explain how the focal length of a convex lens can be found by focusing the light
from a distant building onto a screen.
**24 Students experimenting with convex lenses find the image distances corresponding
to several object positions. These are shown in Table 19.2.
Ta b l e 1 9 . 2
Object distance (cm) 30 35 40 45 60 80 100 120
Image distance (cm) 150 88 67 56 43 36 33 32
(a) Plot the graph of image distance against object distance.

(b) From the graph determine the focal length of the lens.
(c) Find the position of the image when the object is 70 cm from the lens.
*25 A philatelist (stamp collector) wishes to view stamps to identify detail in them.
(a) What type of lens would he require?
(b) Where would he need to place the stamps with respect to the lens?
(c) How would the optical power of the lens affect the image produced?
***26 A convex lens of focal length 5.0 cm and a concave lens of focal length 8.0 cm
are placed 25 cm apart. An object is placed 12 cm in front of the convex lens.
Find the position of the image. (Refer to Figure 19.15.)
Figure 19.15
For question 26. F F O
8 cm 5 cm
25 cm 12 cm
Lenses 427
***27 A plane mirror and a convex lens of 18 cm focal length are set up as shown in
Figure 19.16. A small light source is placed 25 cm from the mirror.
(a) Describe what will be observed.
(b) Find the position of the image(s).
Figure 19.16
50 cm For question 27.
F
25 cm 18 cm
***28 Students performing an experiment using a convex lens placed a small candle at
various distances from the lens. The images were located and the image distance
for each object distance was recorded. However, when the image distances were
recorded they were recorded in the wrong places in the table (Table 19.3).
Rewrite the table with the image distances in the correct columns and plot the
graph of object distance against image distance. From the graph find the focal
length of the lens.
Ta b l e 1 9 . 3
Object distance (cm) 25 30 45 50 60 80 100
Image distance (cm) 60 27 100 36 33 25 30
***29 A slide projector is used to produce images on a screen 3.6 m from the slide.
If the image is required to be 8 times as large as the object, what focal length
lens is needed?
***30 A candle and a screen are placed 4.0 m apart. What focal length lens could be
used to produce an image of the candle on the screen 7 times as large as the
candle itself?
***31 A convex lens has a focal length of 20 cm. Where must an object be placed to
produce a magnification of 5 if the image is (a) upright; (b) inverted?
***32 Students wishing to find the focal length of a concave lens found that they had
a dilemma. They could not focus parallel light from a distant object onto a
screen. When they used a candle they could see the image but again could not
obtain an image on a screen. However, they conducted an experiment where they
moved a 10 cm high candle in from 100 cm to a point 5.0 cm from the lens.
At certain object distances the height of the image was judged by a number of
students. The results are given in Table 19.4. Use as many of these data as
necessary, generate more data from this table, plot a graph, or do calculations,
to find an accurate value of the focal length of this lens.
Ta b l e 1 9 . 4
Object distance (cm) 100 80 60 40 20 10 5
Estimated height of the
image (cm):
Student 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 5 7 9
Student 2 1.75 2 2.5 3.5 4.5 7 8
Student 3 1.75 2 2.5 3.25 5.5 6 8
***33 A lens forms an image on a screen with a magnification of 3.0. The screen is
moved 20 cm closer and the object is then moved until the image is again in
focus. The magnification is now found to be 2.5. Determine the focal length of
the lens.

CHAPTER 20
Optical Instruments
INTRODUCTION 20.1
The application of artificial lenses and mirrors is widespread; however, one of the most
important natural optical instruments is the human eye. But it, too, like the human body
itself, has its defects and limitations. The eye not only can have inherent defects, but its
performance can change with age. It is also unable to see fine detail or make observations of
distant events. For these reasons scientists have developed many complex instruments that
assist the eye in overcoming these limitations.
Other animals also have inherent eye defects. For example:
chickens eyes contain only cones thus making them unable to adapt to the dark
owls eyes contain only rods, which enables them to see well at night but they blink
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E all day long. Can owls recognise colours?
The word pupil comes from the

Latin pupilla = a doll. When you
look at a reflection of yourself
THE HUMAN EYE 20.2
in someones eye you see a
It was not until the Middle Ages that the human eye was studied in any scientific sense.
small doll-like image of yourself.
Now someone was really
Around the year 1000, an Arabian scholar, Abu Alhazen, investigated the complementary
creative with language. colour of after-images. (Stare at an object then close your eyes to see an image of the com-
Quick now, is the image upright plementary colour.) In the early 1600s Johannes Kepler described the eye in terms of a
or inverted? pinhole camera but this left the world puzzled about how we saw things the right way up.
Rene Descartes in 1640 proved that the eye produces inverted images (which the brain
re-inverts), by experimenting with the eyes of dead oxen. From then on, theories of human
vision developed rapidly.
Figure 20.1 The main function of the human eye is to form images on the retina. Light enters the eye
A schematic diagram of the eye. through the transparent cornea and passes through the lens system to be focused onto the
iris light-sensitive retina, which responds by sending signals to the brain via the optic nerve.
retina
The amount of light entering the eye through the pupil is controlled by a diaphragm, the
cornea iris, which reacts to the amount of light available. In very bright daylight the iris allows
little light though the pupil, which may be as small as 2.0 mm. At night the iris opens
up, enlarging the pupil, which may become as big as 6.0 mm. The iris gives a persons
characteristic eye colour.
lens
Activity 20.1 PUPILS LOOK INSIDE THE EYE

pupil The best way to study the optics of an eye is to cut it open. For this activity youll need a
optic
aqueous nerve bulls eye, scalpel, forceps, gloves and scissors.
humour vitreous
humour 1 Examine the eye (Photo 20.1(a)) and look for the optic nerve tube among the
ciliary white fat and tissue at the back. Remove as much of this white stuff as you can.
muscle
2 Use a scalpel to puncture the eyeball and watch the vitreous humour ooze out.
Optical Instruments 429

3 Cut the eye open completely and note the bright blue iridiscent retina. Locate
the optic nerve spot. (Photo 20.1(b).)
4 Cut out the lens and cornea (Photo 20.1(c)) and place it over some newspaper to
reveal the magnification. Estimate the magnification.
5 Remove the lens and note how hard it is. Can you cut it?
(a) (b) (c)
Photo 20.1
(a) A bulls eye as supplied by
the abattoir.
(b) The retina turned inside out.
The optic nerve is visible as a dark
spot in the middle.
(c) A bulls eye lens and cornea with
the black rim of the iris visible. The
letters are magnified about 1.7 times.
The lens system

Light from objects is focused onto the retina by refraction, which takes place at the cornea, N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
the lens, and to a lesser extent in the liquid between the pupil and the cornea the
aqueous humour and the liquid between the lens and the retina the vitreous humour. Two eyes are better than one
for depth perception.
In fact, the curved cornea, which has an optical power of 40 D, does most of the refracting.
Would three be better?
However, it is the lens, with a power of 20 D, that allows us to focus on distant objects as
Why or why not?
well as near objects. The shape and focal length of the lens is controlled by the ciliary
muscles. When an object is at a large distance the muscles contract, making the lens long
and thin and of long focal length, which brings the object into focus on the retina. The
furthest distance that objects can be seen in focus is the far point. This point varies from
person to person and changes with age. It can be from several metres to hundreds of metres.
As an object moves closer the muscles relax making the lens shorter and thicker and decreas-
ing the focal length. The closest point at which a sharp image is formed on the retina is the
near point. If the object is brought closer than this a blurred image is seen. For most
people the near point lies between 10 cm and 25 cm. This ability of the lens to adjust, thus
enabling humans to see far and near, is called accommodation.
Activity 20.2 THE NEAR POINT You blink on average once every
5 seconds while you are awake.
1 Hold this book at arms length.
How many megablinks per
2 With one eye closed, focus on one word and slowly bring the book towards you annum is this? When you go into
stopping when the word starts to become blurred. This is your near point. a shopping centre your blink rate
3 Have a partner measure this distance. falls to one every 12 seconds.
Propose a reason for this.
4 Repeat this with your other eye. Which eye is better?
5 What did you find about the near point for students in your class?
Light rays focus on the retina, which contains light-sensitive cells called rods and cones. There are three forms of
The rods react to the level of brightness whereas the cones react to colour as well as bright- colour blindness: protanopia,
ness. The cone cells are concentrated near the centre of the retina and are thought to contain deuteranopia and total. Find out
three separate receptors, one each for red, green, and blue light. The rods are more concen- what they mean then propose a
trated on the outside of the retina, which makes colour identification in peripheral vision poor. reason for the names based on
Cones are more active in daylight and cannot identify colour in dim light. Rods are more the meaning of the prefixes:
active in dim light. In dim light the rods secrete a light-sensitive chemical, visual purple, pro = one, deut = 2.
which surrounds the tips of the rods and makes them extremely sensitive to dim light.
However, it is destroyed by all but red light and therefore can only accumulate in the dark.
This allows people over a period of half-an-hour or so to adapt to poor light conditions.

Activity 20.3 RODS AND CONES

1 Research:
(a) whether other animals eyes contain rods and/or cones
(b) whether it is true that dogs are colour-blind. Do their eyes contain rods only?
2 Check yourself. A colour blindness test card is reproduced on the inside back
cover. Cards such as these are used by optometrists to assess colour blindness.
The optic nerve carries signals from the retinal cells to the brain, which has to interpret
these signals as the image formed on the retina is inverted and turned from left to right.
However, there are no cells at the point where the optic nerve leaves the eyeball, which
results in a blind spot.
A c t i v i t y 2 0 . 4 T H E B L I N D S P OT
Figure 20.2 1 Close your left eye, keeping your right eye open.
Find the blind spot of the eye.
2 Look at the + in Figure 20.2 with your right eye while holding the book at arms
length.
3 Gradually bring the book toward you while you keep looking at the + .
4 You will arrive at a distance at which the disappears out of the corner of your
eye because light rays from this point hit the retina at the blind spot the
point where the optic nerve leaves the retina.
5 Try this again looking at the + in Figure 20.3 this time.
6 What do you notice about the and the lines when the dot is focused on your
blind spot?
A c t i v i t y 2 0 . 5 F L OAT E R S
Floaters are bits of debris that come away from the inside surface of your eye.
Figure 20.3
Demonstrating how the brain tries 1 Stare at something light coloured and notice the circular blobs that drift around.
to overcome the blind spot. They tend to move upward. Why is this?
2 Stare at the ceiling and you may notice the floaters congregating at the centre.
This happens as they drift into your fovea. New floaters can indicate a retinal tear.
Eye defects
Long-sightedness (Hypermetropia)
Long-sightedness is being able to see distant objects but unable to focus on near objects. It
comes from Greek hyper = beyond, metros = to measure. It is due either to the eyeball being
too short, or to the inability of the lens to relax enough, so the focal length is too long and
the image is formed behind the retina. (See Figure 20.4.)
This can be corrected by using a converging lens, which brings the rays closer together
Close your eyes and press an before passing through the eyes lens.
eyelid at the edge close to
your nose.
How do you explain the big
Short-sightedness (Myopia)
black circle with a yellow outline This occurs when people can focus on close objects but distant objects are blurred. This
on the other corner of your eye? is due either to the eyeball being too long, or to the inability of the muscles to contract
Hmmm! sufficiently, making the focal length too short. The image is formed in front of the retina.
(See Figure 20.5.)
It can be corrected using a diverging lens, which spreads the light rays out.

(a) image focused

Figure 20.4
behind the retina
In hypermetropia the image is
object formed behind the retina (a).
This can be corrected by the
use of a convex lens (b).
object distance
30100 cm from eye
(b) image focused

on the retina
object
converging lens
Figure 20.5
image focused In myopia the image is formed
in front of in front of the retina (a).
the retina This can be corrected by the
use of a concave lens (b).
light from far-

away object
image focused
on the retina Figure 20.6
If you have astigmatism some lines
are blurred while others are sharp.
diverging XII
lens XI I
P r e s by o p i a
X
II
Presbyopia is the inability to focus on distant or close objects a mixture of hypermetropia
and myopia. This commonly occurs with the deterioration of eyesight with age. Presby is Latin
IX
III
for old. The lens is unable to change shape as the ciliary muscles weaken. Bifocals, where the
top half of the spectacles are diverging lenses and the bottom half are converging lenses, are
I
VII
needed to correct this.
IV
Astigmatism VII
VI
V
This occurs if the cornea is not spherical. Stigma is Greek for point. If the cornea is more
curved in one direction than another, a person may find objects or parts of an object blurred
in a particular direction whereas other parts are in focus. This can be corrected by specially
shaped lenses that correct the variable curvature of the cornea.
A c t i v i t y 2 0 . 6 A S T I G M AT I S M In 1970 Dr Fyodorov of the
Soviet Union treated a
You can check to see if you have astigmatism by looking at Figure 20.6. If one line near-sighted man who had
appears sharp and the others are blurred then you may have this defect. glass slivers in his eyes. After
the operation his near-sighted-
Did you know that a Central American fish, the Anableps, has two retinas per eyeball and ness had been cured. Propose
egg-shaped lenses? This fish swims just below the surface of the water with its large what the radial keratomy
eyeballs protruding half above and half under the water. Because of the difference in operation did.
refraction that occurs when light passes from air to the eye, and from water to the eye,
images occur at different distances from the lens, requiring retinas at different positions.

Questions
1 (a) Explain why the human eye has a blind spot.
(b) What does the brain do to overcome the non-formation of an image at the
blind spot?
(c) Do you think other animals would also have blind spots in their eye? (Would
insects, for example flies, have many blind spots?)
2 How could you decide whether a person is long-sighted or short-sighted by
examining their spectacles?
3 In the following examples state, with reasons, the likely defect of the eye, and
indicate how it can be overcome.
(a) A person needs to move a book to 50 cm to be able to read it but can read
street signs, etc. clearly.
(b) A student looking at a blackboard sees vertical lines in focus but horizontal
lines are blurred.
(c) An older person needs to move the morning paper a long distance from his
eyes to read it, and needs to sit close to the picture screen to see a movie.
4 What is the difference between the medical professionals known as an
optometrist, an ophthalmologist and an orthoptist. To which of these people
would you go for (a) spectacles, (b) detached retina symptoms, (c) lazy eye,
(d) cataracts, (e) glaucoma, (f) conjunctivitis ?
Activity 20.7 VISION EFFECTS

See if you can answer these questions.
1 Why does your vision persist on your retina for longer than a blink (0.1 s)?
2 Press the inside corner of your eye when closed and you will see a circular image
in the other corner. You have just cut off blood flow to the retina, but why the
circular image?
3 If you are long-sighted and hence need reading glasses, you may find that
squinting makes close-up things clearer. Does this work by narrowing the
effective pupil size and giving you a pinhole effect or does the pressure on your
eyeball change its shape somewhat so that it temporarily corrects the defect?
4 The fovea has an enormous number of cells (about 250 000). Why is this?
5 Contact lenses are used mainly for short-sightedness. For long-sightedness you
would need a concave contact lens. Can you design one that fits the curve of
the eyeball?
6 The eye disease prosopagnosia has a strange effect. If you look at a hollow face
mask on a rotating table it appears to be rotating the wrong way when its inside
surface is viewed. Prosopagnosia prevents this. Can you find an explanation for
this effect?
CAMERAS 20.3
A camera works in a similar fashion to the eye. Light from the object enters through the lens
system and is focused onto the film containing light-sensitive chemicals (silver halides),
which are changed by the image-forming light rays. This is called making an exposure. A
correct exposure is made when sufficient light is allowed to enter the camera and cause the
correct amount of chemical change in the film. This is controlled by both shutter speed and
aperture diameter.

(a) Schematic diagram of a simple camera (b) A more complex SLR camera
viewing pentaprism
focusing tube
screw viewfinder interchangeable
compound lens
object assembly
eye
film plane
F
image reflex mirror
fixed single lens ray
focal plane
shutter
focusing ring
fixed aperture film plane
simple shutter aperture ring
(variable)
bayonet mount
Unlike the lens of the eye, the lens of the camera cannot change its focal length. (c)
Therefore, to form a sharp image of objects at various distances the lens is movable. When
objects are far away, the distance between the lens and the film is the focal length. As a
distant object moves nearer, the lens has to be moved further from the film to keep the object
in focus. This is achieved by use of the focusing screw. However, there is a limit to the close-
ness an object can reach while still in focus, for each particular type of camera and lens.
f11 f4
Single lens reflex cameras have the ability to easily change lens systems. These lens systems
often have a range of focal lengths over which they can operate. They are called zoom lenses.
Figure 20.7
Camera lenses are made from glass in good-quality cameras, but in cheaper ones plastic A schematic diagram of a simple
(usually Perspex) is used. camera (a); and a more complex
SLR camera (b); (c) the variable
The shutter controls the amount of light entering the camera. If objects are moving aperture ring.
quickly then it is necessary to catch the object in one position otherwise the image will be
blurred. Therefore, the time interval that the shutter is open needs to be very short, maybe
1/500 second. Because less light is entering the camera this will necessitate the use of a fast
film. These films are more sensitive to light than slow films, which can be used when the
shutter speed can be longer, allowing more light to enter the camera. However, fast film may
not give the picture quality of slow film. It is usually more grainy. The speed of any film is
stated as its ISO rating. An ISO400 film is four times as fast as an ISO100 film. In modern
films the ISO rating is coded onto the film canister to be read by the camera.
All cameras are fitted with an aperture, which restricts the area through which light can
pass. Simple cameras have fixed apertures, but other cameras have a variable iris diaphragm
(corresponding to the iris of the eye) in the lens system. As the aperture is nearly circular, its
area is proportional to the square of its diameter. So when you double the diameter, you let
through four times as much light; when you halve it, you let through one-quarter the amount
of light.
Apertures are denoted by f-stops or f/numbers, calculated by dividing the focal length of
the lens by the effective aperture. The effective aperture is the width of the light beam that
must enter the lens to fill the real aperture (or stop) completely. It is generally not the same
as the diameter of the aperture itself, as most lens front elements are positive and therefore
converge a beam of light to fill the aperture. The f/number series is as follows: f1, f1.4, f2,
f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f22, f32, and f45. Each number admits twice as much light as the next
higher one, and half as much as the next lower. The bigger the number, the smaller the
aperture, and vice versa. Most lenses allow you to set half-stops, although the f/number is
not shown, unless the camera is an electronic type with an LCD panel or the f/stop is the
maximum aperture.
Under the same lighting conditions, all lenses, regardless of focal length, produce the
same image brightness at the same f/number.

Photo 20.2 Lenses are described by two parameters: their focal length and their maximum aperture.
The aperture setting and the So you might have a 35 mm f2.8 lens, or a 2870 mm f3.54.5 zoom. Note that the maximum
shutter speed affect the aperture of the zoom has changed with focal length, and the numbers quoted here are not full
photo produced.
stops.
Its common to talk about the speed of the lens, which is pretty confusing, as it has
nothing to do with shutter speed. The speed of the lens is its maximum aperture; a fast lens
is one with a big maximum aperture for its focal length (maximum apertures tend to become
smaller as the focal length increases). So the so-called sports lenses are 300 mm f2.8 tele-
photos and are usually very expensive.
The size of the aperture also controls the depth of focus or depth of field. If a small
aperture is used objects from far and near will be in focus at the same time, giving a large
depth of field. If a large aperture is used then a small depth of field is obtained, with near
objects being in focus while background objects are blurred. (Compare the two photos.) When
you use the lenss maximum aperture you are said to be shooting wide open, and when using
its minimum you are shooting stopped down.
For correct exposure when taking photographs, the shutter time and aperture settings will
depend on:
the brightness of the object
the sensitivity of the film
the effect or depth of field desired.
The correct exposure will be determined by the cameras light meter.
Activity 20.8 CAMERAS AND FILM TYPES

1 Using an encyclopaedia or other reference, find out how a pentaprism in a
camera works and make a drawing to illustrate.
2 Use the library or Internet to research (a) types of films; (b) types of camera
systems: compact, SLRs, TLRs, medium format, view cameras, digital cameras.
Questions
5 For a simple camera to produce a photo of a distant object:
(a) state whether the lens will be moved closer to or further from the film;
(b) give an indication of the aperture size required for a good depth of field.
6 Aperture settings of cameras are in terms of f/numbers or f-stops.
(a) What do these numbers marked on the lens indicate?
(b) What is the size of the effective aperture of a 10 cm focal length camera
lens if the setting is f4?
1 1
(c) An exposure of 125 s at f8 would be equivalent to an exposure of 250 s at
what aperture, assuming that film of the same speed is used for both?
7 A lens of a simple camera has a focal length of 12 cm. What is the distance
needed between the lens and the film to produce a sharp image when the object
is at (a) infinity; (b) 40 cm; (c) 6.0 cm?
TELESCOPES 20.4
Controversy exists over the actual inventor of the telescope although it is usually attributed
to a Dutch spectacle maker, Hans Lippershey, in 1608. However, it was Galileo who quickly
made his own version in Venice in 1610 and turned it toward the heavens. The modern
science of astronomy was born. As Venice was a glassmaking city, the developments of
lenses became rapid. The microscope was invented soon after.

Figure 20.8
focus of A refracting telescope contains a long
light from objective (Fo) focal length objective lens and a short
distant image from and eyepiece (Fe)
focal length eyepiece lens.
object objective lens
final image eyepiece lens

at infinity short focal I N V E S T I G AT I N G
inverted and length
objective lens vertical Binoculars solve one problem
long focal length inherent in the design of
o + e telescopes. What is it?
This type of telescope consists of two convex lenses. The objective lens has a long focal
length and the eyepiece lens has a short focal length. These lenses are set up so their
focal points coincide (Figure 20.8). Parallel light from a distant object, after being refracted
by the objective lens, forms an inverted image at the focal point of the eyepiece lens. This
produces a final image at infinity. The eye uses its own lens to bring the parallel rays to focus
on the retina. Notice that the image is inverted, but astronomers are accustomed to this. The
magnification of a telescope is given by the formula:
fo
M =
fe
where fo is the focal length of the objective lens, and fe is the focal length of the eyepiece
lens.
The length of the telescope is also controlled by the focal lengths. The telescope has a
minimum length of fo + fe.
Terrestrial telescopes (in Latin terra = Earth) are a lot smaller than astronomical tele-
scopes and have an extra lens to produce an upright image, which is important when
observing earthly things such as a cricket match or while bird watching (Figure 20.9).
final image Figure 20.9

at infinity Terrestrial telescopes have an extra
erect and lens so images are upright.
vertical
light from
distant object image from Fe
objective lens 2FE
image
Fo
2FE from
erecting
inverting
lens
lens (E)
eyepiece
lens (e)
objective lens
(o)
o + 4E + e

Galilean telescopes use a diverging lens as the eyepiece, which in effect makes the
length smaller and produces an upright image.
Figure 20.10 final image at infinity
A Galilean telescopes eyepiece is erect and vertical
a concave lens. This produces
upright images but gives a light from
narrower field of view. distant object Fo and Fe
image from
objective lens
eyepiece
objective lens (e)
lens (o)
o e
However, astronomical telescopes are normally not refracting telescopes as the large
lenses required tend to sag and it is very expensive to manufacture good quality, large focal
length lenses. Astronomical telescopes are normally reflecting telescopes.
Reflecting telescopes
One of the problems associated with large refracting telescopes is chromatic aberration. Isaac
Newton realised that it would be difficult to avoid, so in 1665 he developed a reflecting
telescope. It used a large concave mirror to collect light from distant objects. This light con-
Figure 20.11 verged onto a plane mirror tilted at 45; this reflected the light to the focal point of the eye-
Reflecting telescopes use large concave
mirrors as the objectives. This allows piece, which acted in the same way as that of an astronomical telescope. These telescopes
them to collect much more light than have an advantage in that mirrors are less costly than lenses and can be supported at their
refracting telescopes. backs, therefore they can be very large.
concave
The worlds largest optical mirror, polished to the highest perfection, has a diameter of
objective mirror 8.2 m, a surface of more than 50 m2, and weighs 23.5 t. It was built in 1995 and put in place
on 17 April 1998 at the first Very Large Telescope Unit (VLT-UT1) at the Paranal Observatory
Fo
located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile. The VLT now consists of four
plane mirror 8 m telescopes which can work independently or in combined mode, providing the total light-
at 45 collecting power of a 16 m single telescope, currently making it the largest optical telescope
Fe
in the world. The VLT is strong enough to detect a glow-worm at 10 000 km. Compared
eyepiece lens with this, the largest objective lens used in a refracting telescope is quite small 1.34 m in
diameter. Because of the very large diameter mirrors used in reflecting telescopes, they are
able to collect large amounts of light, allowing astronomers to see fainter objects in the
heavens.
Questions
8 Copy and complete Table 20.1, which indicates the focal lengths of the objective
and eyepiece lenses, and the magnification obtained by a refracting astronomical
telescope.
Ta b l e 2 0 . 1
FOCAL LENGTH FOCAL LENGTH OF MAGNIFICATION LENGTH OF THE
OF OBJECTIVE LENS EYEPIECE LENS TELESCOPE
(a) 4.0 m 10 cm
(b) 5.0 cm 10
(c) 3.0 m 60
(d) 2.0 cm 2.0 m
9 Give reasons for most astronomical telescopes being reflecting rather than
refracting telescopes.

20.5 MICROSCOPES
A simple microscope consists of a single convex lens or magnifying glass. When the object
is placed inside the focal length a large upright image is produced. The lens is moved until
the largest sharpest image is seen. This occurs when the image is at the near point of
the eye.
Figure 20.12
A simple microscope produces
magnified, upright images at the
near point of the eye.
virtual
erect
image object
principal axis
near F F
point
Figure 20.13
near point distance A compound microscope uses a short
focal length objective lens and a long
focal length eyepiece lens to produce
The magnification of the magnifying glass is expressed as the ratio of the near point upright, magnified images at the near
distance to the focal length of the lens. In general, the near point is taken as 25 cm. point of the eye.
25
M =
f
eyepiece
lens
For example the magnification of a convex lens of 10 cm focal length, when used as a
25
simple microscope, is 10 = 2.5.
A compound microscope consists of a converging lens of short focal length (5.010 cm)
and an eyepiece lens of longer focal length. The light from the object, which is illuminated
by reflected light from a mirror or by direct light, passes through the objective lens, which is image from
near point distance

objective lens
positioned so that the object is just outside its focal point. This produces a large inverted real
Fe
image just inside the focus of the eyepiece lens, which acts like a magnifying glass. A large
inverted, virtual image is thus produced at the near point of the eye. Since both lenses
magnify, magnification of 400 or more can be obtained. Microscopes usually have a variety of
objective lenses to produce a range of magnifications and good-quality microscopes contain
achromatic lenses to eliminate chromatic aberration.
Questions
Fo
10 Find the magnification of a convex lens when it is used as a simple microscope if

the focal length is (a) 20 cm; (b) 2.0 cm; (c) 100 cm; (d) 5.0 cm. objective
11 Cheap microscopes produce images with coloured fringes. Explain why this lens
occurs and how it is overcome in more expensive microscopes.

final image
virtual and
Fo
inverted
object

P R O J E C TO R S A N D E N L A R G E R S 20.6
A slide projector (Figure 20.14) consisting of a system of mirrors and lenses produces a real,
magnified, inverted image of a piece of photographic slide on a screen. As light leaves
the lamp in all directions, the concave mirror reflects the light backward through the slide,
intensifying the light through the slide. The condenser lens spreads the light evenly over the
surface of the slide. The movable projector lens focuses a sharp, magnified, inverted image
onto a screen. Because the image is inverted, the slide has to be placed in the projector
upside-down.
Figure 20.14
A schematic diagram of a
slide projector. concave
mirror slide
screen
projection achromatic
lamp lens
double
condenser lens
Photo 20.3 A photographic enlarger is very similar to the slide projector with the slide replaced by
Really high magnifications can only be
a film negative and the screen replaced by a piece of photographic paper containing light-
obtained using a scanning electron
microscope. This photo shows a Pigeon sensitive chemicals, which change when light falls on them. The amount of light emerging
Pox Virus at 160 000 magnification. from the enlarger can be controlled by adjusting the aperture (the f/number).
Each viron is 200 nm across so youd
The latest versions of these instruments are referred to as data projectors. You might like
fit 1/4 million across the width of
this photo. Taken by Mr Howard Prior to look back at Chapter 16 (section 16.10) to find out about the electronics and optics in
at the Animal Research Institute, these devices using LEDs and DLPs.
Yeerongpilly, Brisbane.
A c t i v i t y 2 0 . 9 OV E R H E A D P R O J E C TO R
1 If you have access to an OHP, examine the optics and draw a diagram to show
the way an image is produced.
2 Locate the Fresnel lens and describe its construction.
3 State one safety feature incorporated into the OHP.
Practice questions
*12 Why do you think doctors shine a light in your eyes to see if you are conscious?
*13 With age, as the muscles weaken, what do you think happens to the far point?
*14 Draw a well labelled diagram of the human eye.
*15 (a) What is hypermetropia?
(b) Explain how this defect of the eye might be caused.
(c) Indicate how it can be overcome.

*16 For the human eye what controls:

(a) the focusing of an image on the retina;
(b) the focal length of the lens;
(c) the amount of light entering the eye;
(d) whether you can see in dim light?
*17 (a) Explain the operation of the shutter and the aperture in allowing light into
a camera in order to control exposure.
(b) Explain the difference between film speed and lens speed in photography.
*18 Compare the similarities and differences between an eye and a camera by
copying and completing Table 20.2.
Ta b l e 2 0 . 2
FEATURE EYE CAMERA
Detects an image
Focuses light to
produce an image
Controls the amount
of light entering
Controls mechanism to
produce a field of view
Sensing apparatus/material
that produces the image
*19 What would happen to the length and magnification of a refracting telescope if
the objective lens was replaced by one of shorter length?
*20 The focal length of the eyepiece lens of an astronomical refracting telescope is
4.0 cm. What focal length objective lens is required to give the telescope a
magnification of 10?
*21 What is the focal length of a magnifying glass whose magnification is (a) 25;
(b) 50; (c) 10?
*22 Compare the similarities and differences between a refracting astronomical
telescope and a microscope.
*23 Specify whether the following use a concave or a convex lens.
(a) The eye.
(b) Spectacles to correct myopia.
(c) The projector.
(d) The terrestrial telescope.
(e) The microscope.
*24 Why must a slide be placed upside-down in a slide projector?
*25 In an enlarger what is the purpose of (a) the concave mirror; (b) the condenser;
(c) the lens?
**26 A slide projector contains a lens of 5.0 cm focal length. The distance between
the slide and the lens can be adjusted from 5.1 cm to 6.0 cm.
(a) Calculate the minimum distance between the lens and the screen that
produces a sharp image on the screen.
(b) Calculate the maximum distance between the lens and the screen that
produces a sharp image.
(c) If the size of the slide is 7.8 cm2, calculate the maximum size of the sharp
image produced.

**27 Which of the following form virtual images when in normal use?
(a) The eye.
A searchlight lights up the sky (b) The camera.
when used on Earth. What
(c) The refracting telescope.
would you see if you did the
(d) A Galilean telescope.
same thing on the moon?
(e) An enlarger.
(f) A microscope.
**28 Several eye defects are now being treated by the use of lasers. Research the use
of lasers in modifying the cornea to enable people to see without spectacles.
**29 If you wanted to start a fire without matches you could use your friends
spectacles to concentrate rays of light from the sun. Is this possible if your
friend has (a) hypermetropia; (b) myopia; (c) presbyopia? Explain each
answer!
**30 Figure 20.15 can be used in determining the correct exposure when taking
photos using a fast film. Use this figure to determine (with explanation) what
an appropriate setting would be when the camera is used to take a photo of:
(a) a fast moving car in bright sunlight;
(b) a bird sitting in the branches of a tree;
(c) a flower in the field on an overcast day;
(d) a wedding couple on a bright sunny day.
Figure 20.15 1
For question 30. 15
1
t
gh
Shutter speed (s)
ig zy ud ll
30
br ha clo du
su un bri
1
y
60
1
s
n
120
1
ht
250
1
500
1
1000
f2 f2.8 f4 f5.6 f8 f11 f16
Aperture setting
**31 In William Goldings Lord of the Flies the character Piggy uses his glasses to start
a fire. Later the boys break Piggys glasses but he cannot identify them at close
range because he is short-sighted. Find the flaw in this narrative.
***32 A coin collector wants to examine some old coins using a magnifying glass. If
the magnifying glass has a focal length of 10 cm, where must the eye and coin
be positioned to produce the largest sharpest image?
***33 A student who is far-sighted needed to hold a book at a distance of 50 cm to be
able to read. What focal length corrective lens is required to enable this student
to read the book at the normal near point of 25 cm? Assume the distance
between the lens and the eye is negligible.

***34 Figure 20.16 shows the schematic diagram of an episcope used to produce an
image of a page of a book on a screen. Analyse the figure and explain how it
operates.
glass window Figure 20.16

book For question 34.
***35 When you hold a pinhead close to your eye and let it be illuminated by light
from a pinhole in some paper (see Figure 20.17) you see a strange image. The
image is dark, magnified and inverted. Try it and offer some explanations.
Figure 20.17
For question 35.
image
pinhole in paper
eye
pin
1 cm 2 cm
(approx.)

UNIT 07
Electricity & Electronics
CHAPTER 21
Electrostatics
21.1 INTRODUCTION
Electrostatic effects are very common in our everyday experience. Have you ever wondered
about peculiar electricity effects? For example, what do the following situations have in
common?
Youve greeted your best friend in the library after wandering around looking for
books and you both get an electric shock as you touch.
Removing a synthetic shirt or blouse at night in a darkened room leads to a display
of tiny little sparks.
After travelling in the car you receive a rather nasty little electric shock from the
door handle when you get out.
Did you realise that these effects all occur after one type of material has been rubbed against
another? Other examples of similar effects:
Dust always seems to stick to the screen of the television set or computer monitor
and gets worse as you try to take it off with a cloth.
Some cars travel around with funny belts hanging down onto the road.
Lightning always strikes the oldest and tallest trees in the forest.
Some groups of balloons never seem to want to stay together properly.
People sitting on plastic chairs in the office pose a possible danger to sensitive
computer or electronic equipment.
These are all due to the presence of electric charge built up on objects around us as a
result of frictional processes. This electric charge is very important in nature. Electric forces
and charges control many natural effects and are seen in dramatic circumstances such as
lightning strikes. Much of our modern technology relies on controlling electric charges, either
trying to eliminate their effects or making use of their attracting or repelling properties. In
this chapter the aim is to understand the nature of electric charge and the ways in which
charge behaves. This will help us to understand the operation of application devices such as
spark dischargers, electrostatic generators, photocopiers and fax machines, lightning arrestors
and even the various forms of biological electrostatic defences such as those possessed by
animals like the electric eels and rays. Physicists regard the force of electricity as a funda-
mental force of nature that is ultimately responsible for other forces such as friction, contact
pushes, adhesion and cohesion.
21.2 ELECTRIC CHARGE

The first step in understanding electrostatic effects is a knowledge of the structure of atoms
and matter. Recall that all matter is composed of atoms, which are the building blocks con-
sisting of a very small and dense central nucleus, containing protons and neutrons, and
layer-like regions called clouds surrounding this nucleus, which contain electrons. Figure 21.1
shows the relative diameters of a typical atomic nucleus as well as the outer electron cloud

Figure 21.1
Simple model of the atom.
electron
clouds
negative 1010 m
electrons

Nucleus
(enlarged
view)
1015 m
+ positive protons neutrons
for a general atom. From this type of model it is possible to conclude, as did Lord Rutherford
in about 1913 using alpha particle scattering experiments, that the atom is mostly empty
space. It is also possible to conclude that the particles within the nucleus are very tightly
bound together, with the protons being positively charged and the neutrons being neutral,
that is, with no net charge. The electrons, especially the outermost ones, are very loosely
bound to the nucleus in most atoms and are negatively charged.
Ta b l e 2 1 . 1 ATO M I C PA RT I C L E P R O P E RT I E S
ELECTRON PROTON NEUTRON
Relative charge 1 +1 0
Coulomb charge 1.6 1019 +1.6 1019 0
Mass 9.11 1031 kg 1.673 1027 kg 1.675 1027
Atomic location orbital cloud central nucleus central nucleus
Discovered 1897 1913 1932
J. J. Thompson E. Rutherford J. Chadwick
Table 21.1 compares the properties of the three fundamental atomic particles. Any atom that
has equal numbers of protons and electrons is said to be neutral as it will have no net elec-
tric charge. Remember that the neutrons act simply as a nuclear glue and do not alter the
positivenegative balance of the atom. The simplest atom in nature, the hydrogen atom, only
has one electron and one proton, whereas lawrencium, a very complex atom, has 103 elec-
trons, 103 protons and 157 neutrons. If an individual atom of any element is made to gain or
lose some of its electron particles then it is said to have become an ion. Positive ions have
lost electrons and negative ions have gained electrons over and above the normal atomic
number. Ions are quite important in various types of chemical reactions.
In electrostatics it is normal to consider blocks of materials that have become
electrically charged; this means that the material itself, such as a glass rod, has either had
Electrostatics 445
extra electrons placed onto it, or had some of its atomic electrons removed from it. It has Photo 21.1
thus become net electrically charged or electrified. The ancient Greeks had found that the Free pivot apparatus with
charged rods.
material they called Elektros attracted bits of hair and small pieces of straw dust when it was
rubbed with cloth or animal fur. Today we call this material amber. It is actually fossilised tree
resins. Similarly, in laboratory experiments it is easy to show that Perspex rods rubbed with
rabbit fur can attract small torn pieces of paper, or that polythene strips if rubbed with the
same rabbit fur will subsequently repel each other when freely suspended on a set of free
pivots. This type of experiment is often best carried out under a set of heat lamps so as to
provide a very dry atmosphere in order to prevent moist ionised air quickly dissipating the
electric charges.
This technique of using a cloth or piece of fur to rub a solid such as glass, Perspex, wax
or polythene will electrify the object due to a process called friction charging. In this process
the energy supplied to the outermost atomic electrons allows them to move from the
material with the least affinity or attraction for electrons to that material with the most affin-
ity for electrons. The process is also referred to as triboelectric separation of charge. The
word is derived from the Greek tribein, meaning to rub. Electrons are therefore transferred
from one object to another, one object becoming positive as it loses electrons, say the N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
rabbit fur, and the other object becoming negative as it gains electrons, say the polythene
In the mid-1700s, French
strip. Note that in this example of the separation of charge process, the fur will most likely
experimentalist Franois du Fay
lose its charge quite quickly either by direct contact with the experimenters hand or by loss
observed that a charged gold
to the atmosphere. It will thus regain neutrality. This quite often makes it difficult to show
leaf was attracted by some
that the fur has in fact become electrically charged.
electrified substances and
repelled by others. He called
Ta b l e 2 1 . 2 T R I B O E L E C T R I C S E R I E S the two types vitreous and
+ Atoms have a low affinity for electrons resinous. Use Table 21.2 and
Rabbit or cat fur your knowledge of what
Acetate substances are classified as
Perspex vitreous and resinous to decide
Glass if the resinous rod would have a
Wool positive or negative charge.
Lead
Silk

Paraffin wax
Polythene
Ebonite
Copper In the eighteenth century,
Rubber British sailing ships had
Amber their gunpowder store (the
Sulfur magazine) lined with copper to
make it waterproof. Sailors had
Gold
to put on thick felt slippers to
Atoms have a high affinity for electrons
avoid generating a spark by
electrification. They learnt this
Every materials atoms have their own specific tendency to gain or lose electrons easily. the hard way.
Table 21.2 lists the triboelectric series showing several materials in order, from those that
have a low affinity for electrons and will tend to become positively charged to those that
have a high affinity and become negatively charged in frictional experiments. This series is
easy to read because any material will become positive by losing electrons if rubbed with any
other material lower in the series list. For example, glass can become positively charged when
rubbed with a silk handkerchief but negatively charged if rubbed with rabbit fur. Acetate or
Perspex rods can become positively charged if rubbed with a woollen cloth while polythene
or ebonite rods will become negatively charged when rubbed with the same woollen cloth.
In the triboelectric separation process the frictional charging simply involves a transfer
of negative charge or electrons from one object to another. It is important to realise that

objects can never gain or lose positive protons in this process. The net amount of charge
lost by one object of the pair is gained by the other. We can state a more general law of
In 500 BC, Greek philosopher conservation of charge which is:
Thales of Miletus noticed that
cork dust was attracted to a The net amount of charge produced in any transfer process is zero.
charged amber rod. It was not
until 1500 (almost 2000 years Electric charge is considered to be one of the fundamental properties of matter. Recall
later) that people noticed that that in earlier chapters on force and space physics the idea of an inverse square law of attrac-
after a while the cork dust tion between two masses was established. This force of gravity depended on the value of
was repelled. the respective masses and was inversely proportional to the square of the separation of the
Why was the dust repelled and why masses. Similarly, a force of attraction or repulsion can be detected between electrically
do you suspect that people did not charged objects. This force due to electrostatic charge also obeys an inverse square law and
notice it earlier? depends on the respective amounts of charge on the objects just like the gravitational force
between masses. The mathematical form of the law of electrostatics is further discussed in
Section 21.5 but at this point the most important general features of the law are illustrated
in Figure 21.2 and stated as:
Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.
The effects of this law can be observed with charged rods freely suspended on pivot
apparatus.
Figure 21.2
Like charges repel and unlike
charges attract.
freely
suspended
rods
ss
repulsion gla
ss
gla
attraction
glass
ebonite
The process of frictional charging can be used in the development of machines that generate
and store large quantities of electric charge. Research and experimentation within fields such
Plastic food wrap as materials science, sub-atomic structure of matter, nuclear medicine, atmospheric physics
(e.g. Gladwrap) clings because and meteorology require electrostatic generators that provide very powerful force fields and
it is electrostatically charged electrostatic potential differences. These topics are further discussed in Section 21.6. A school
during manufacture. laboratory machine that usually is a smaller model of the larger more complex research
If this is the case, why doesnt it machines is the Van de Graaff generator. This device consists of a polished metallic dome
discharge when you touch it with that is supported on an insulating column. Charge is transported to or from this dome by a
your hands? rubberised belt running over a pair of rollers and a system of point combs or knife-edge strips
placed very close to the moving belt at the top and bottom. A high-voltage electrical system
within the base of the machine continuously provides electrons and a motor rotates the
rubberised belt so that charge is moved. As the Van de Graaff generator is operating, charge
builds up on the metal dome, eventually producing a very high potential difference between
the dome and the Earth. This may reach thousands or even millions of volts. As more charge
is moved to the dome the motor has to work harder and reduces in speed. An equilibrium is
established when charge movement onto the dome is balanced by charge loss to the
surrounding moist air. If any neutral or earthed object is bought close to the dome of the
machine it is likely that a single electric spark will jump to the object and the machine will
Electrostatics 447
lose all its built-up charge very rapidly. This is called discharge. (See Photo 21.2.) This effect
is similar to the type of process that causes lightning to occur in nature.
The Earth itself is a particularly interesting object electrically. The Earth can be con-
sidered as either a source of electric charge or as a sink for electric charge. The process of
transferring electric charge to or from the Earth is called earthing or grounding and requires
an electrical conductor, which is discussed in the next section. Charges are free to move in a
conductor either to or from the Earth so that neutrality is maintained. It is common to refer
to the process of discharging any electrified object so that it becomes electrically neutral as
earthing that particular object.
21.3 C O N D U C T O R S A N D I N S U L AT O R S
Photo 21.2
Van de Graaff generator.
atoms vibrating
in fixed lattice
electrons (not to scale)

Figure 21.3
Electrons can move freely within
the regular lattice arrays of good
conductors.
Within solids the atoms are generally arranged in a simple geometric pattern or lattice,
whereas in liquids and gases the atoms are much more free to move. A metallic solid has a
very regular lattice array of atomic nuclei and the outermost electrons of each atom are quite
easily able to move throughout this lattice array. This type of structure is called metallic
bonding. (See Figure 21.3.) Metals are called good electrical conductors because any charge
placed on them is free to move through the lattice. Other substances that do not allow free
charge movement, or whose atomic electrons are not free to move, are called insulators.
Charges that are placed onto any conductor will be free to evenly distribute themselves over
the surface of the conductor, whereas charge placed onto the surface of any insulator will stay
in the same place. (See Figure 21.4.) The human body acts as a conductor and this is why
touching any charged object will lead to the removal of charge from the object.

Figure 21.4 contact contact

Charge movement within
conductors and insulators.
glass insulator charge copper conductor
stays
charge
Photo 21.3 distributes
Circuit board (copper tracks).
Most metals are very good conductors of electricity, as are liquids that contain charged ions,
such as salty water or acid solutions. The most common insulators used to prevent the
flow of electric charge are rubber, plastics, paper, glass or ceramics. Insulators are seen in
electrical wiring as either a direct coating over the copper conductor or as a stand-off insu-
lating support on power poles in the street. Most household electronic devices have internal
circuit boards that contain conducting copper tracks on an insulating fibreglass base.
Semiconductors are a modern class of materials including silicon, germanium, gallium
arsenide and various metal oxides that, in their natural state, are relatively poor conductors
compared with metals. However, the conductivity of these crystalline materials can be
artificially improved by the addition of selected impurity elements into their crystal structure.
This class of semiconductors has become the basis of modern electronic chips and will be dis-
cussed more fully in Chapter 23. Their conductivity is variable and can even be switched on
and off. Consider what happens when negative charge is placed onto a perfectly symmetrical
conductor such as a metal sphere. Remember that the charges are free to move and because
they all equally repel each other, they will reside equally distributed over the spheres surface.
Figure 21.5
Charge distribution in cross-section over If, however, the excess negative charges are placed onto a non-symmetrical (asymmetrical)
regular and irregular conductors. conductor surface such as a metallic cone, then the charges will repel each other in such a
way that they will tend to pile up at the edges and at the point of the cone. As a result,
Even distribution
charge leakage to the surrounding air will occur more rapidly at edges and points on a
conductor. An important application of this effect occurs with lightning rods or arresters
on tall buildings, which allow charges built up during high winds and electrical storms to
dissipate very quickly and prevent possible lightning strikes. (See Figure 21.5.)
DETECTING AND DEFINING CHARGE 21.4

Perspex
insulated base metal top
plate
Build-up at point
protective
and edges
housing
stem
leaf
Perspex
insulated base
simplified sketch
Figure 21.6 insulating base

An electroscope detector.
Electrostatics 449
The property of mutual repulsion of like electric charge can be put to use in the design of a Photo 21.4
simple instrument that will detect the presence of charge. The electroscope consists of IC chips.
a metal top plate and stem cased within an insulating protective housing. Attached to
the centre stem is either a very fine metal foil strip (leaf) that hangs vertically or a freely
pivoted counterbalanced arm. (Figure 21.6.) The electroscope can either detect the presence
of charge on any object brought close to the metal plate, or it can be charged itself by
contact. If a positively charged rod is brought close to the metal plate, the leaf strip rises as
it is repelled away from the stem, as free electrons in the stem and leaf strip are being
attracted to the metal plate. If a negatively charged rod is brought close to the metal plate,
the leaf strip rises as it is repelled away from the stem again, but this time due to free
electrons being forced downward to the leaf strip and the stem. In either case, once the
charged rods influence is removed the leaf strip will collapse back to the stem because no
net charge separation within the electroscope occurs (Figure 21.7(a)).
(a) (b)
++++ ++ +
++ + +
+ Figure 21.7
++ + (a) Charging an electroscope.
+ (b) Contacting an electroscope;

e e + leaf repulsion will remain.
+

+ +
+

+
+
+ +
+
+
+
+
The electroscope can be charged by contact with the metal plate. If, for example, a
positively charged rod touches the top plate and is rubbed across it, the charge is shared with
the electroscope. The leaf will be repelled away from the stem, due to equal positive charge
and will remain repelled even if the contacted charged rod is removed. Similarly if a
negatively charged rod is touched to the plate and rubbed across it, negative charge is shared
with the electroscope, and the leaf and stem mutually repel. Again the electroscope will
remain charged even if the negative rod is removed (Figure 21.7(b)).
If the electroscope is charged with a known polarity, it can then be used to test for the
presence of a charged rod. The leaf of an electroscope of known polarity will fall if a rod of
opposite charge is brought into close proximity to the metal plate or will rise further if a rod
of similar charge is brought into close proximity. Its leaf will also fall if an uncharged rod is
brought near, so the only sure test for a charge is repulsion.
(a) (b) (c) (d) Figure 21.8

Charging an electroscope
by induction.
hand
____
____ ____
+ +++ + + +
+ + __ + ++
+ e + + e
e +
__ ___ + ++
_ +
+
Earth
The electroscope can also be charged by a process known as electrostatic induction. This
involves a stage of earthing the metal plate during the charging sequence. The important fact
to remember is that charging an electroscope by induction will always produce an opposite
charge polarity between the electroscope and the charged rod used for induction charging.
Figure 21.8 shows the steps necessary. Consider a negatively charged rod brought into close

proximity to the metal plate. This repels electrons away from the plate to the leaf and stem
and the leaf rises (Figure 21.8(a)). If the metal plate is now earthed, the leaf falls as excess
electrons are forced to earth through the hand, leaving the electroscope positively charged
(Figure 21.8(b) and (c)). As the hand and then the rod are removed the electroscope leaf
and stem again repel due to redistribution of positive charge equally over the electroscope
(Figure 21.8(d)).
An interesting device that can be used to provide a source of electric charge is the
electrophorus. This makes use of both friction charging and earthing techniques. The elec-
trophorus consists of a large plastic or wax baseplate and a metallic disc on an insulating
handle, which can sit on the baseplate. To charge the device, the baseplate is rubbed vigor-
ously with woollen cloth or rabbit fur. This creates charge on the baseplate. The metallic disc
is grasped by the insulating handle and placed flat down on top of the charged baseplate.
Charge separation across the width of the metallic disc occurs due to attraction of the charges
on the baseplate. If the top surface of the metallic disc is now earthed momentarily by
touch and then the disc is lifted up from the baseplate, the disc will become electrically
charged. This device is surprisingly effective in laboratory situations for demonstrating
electrostatic effects. (See Figure 21.9.)
Figure 21.9 insulating

Charging a simple electrophorus. handle lifted
away
Earth
rubbed with
fur +
copper +
disc +
+
+ +
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E +
+ + e
_______
When sand falls through a
+++++++
plastic funnel onto a metal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
plate on an electroscope, the
leaves diverge. Explain this, if baseplate perspex baseplate baseplate
you can.
Electric charge is measured in units called coulombs. The unit is named after Charles-
Augustin Coulomb, a French physicist (17361806). One coulomb of electric charge is defined
as the charge on 6.25 1018 electrons. If an electrified object has an excess of
6.25 1018 electrons or has lost this number of electrons, it will have a charge of one
sand in
coulomb (1 C) negative or positive respectively. This means that the charge on a single elec-
plastic
1
funnel tron particle can be calculated as = 1.6 1019 C negative. The symbol Q is
6.25 1018
often used for the quantity of charge on any object.
In practice, with electrically charged objects in the laboratory, very large numbers of elec-
trons are moved. Common units of electric charge become microcoulombs (C). When charge
moves through a metallic conductor at a given rate an electric current is produced. By
definition, if one coulomb of electrons pass any given point in a conductor per second then
a current of one ampere is flowing:
metal plate
1 ampere (A) = 6.25 10 18 electrons per second
Example
A Perspex rod is rubbed with a piece of silk. It acquires a charge of 0.02 C. (a) Is this charge
leaves positive or negative and how many electrons are transferred? (b) If all this charge is now
diverge
transferred to an electroscope with charge +0.01 C, what will be the net state of the
electroscope?
Electrostatics 451
Solution Figure 21.10

(a) By using the triboelectric series, the charge on the Perspex rod is + 0.02 C positive. For questions 5 and 6.
0.02 106 C = 0.02 106 6.25 1018 electrons, or (a)

1.25 1011 electrons transferred from Perspex to silk.
A +8 C
(b) Total charge on the electroscope after transfer = 0.02 C + 0.01 C = 0.03 C
(positive).
The electroscope leaf deflection will increase and the net charge on the
electroscope is now +0.03 C = 1.87 1011 electrons depleted.
Questions
1 Use the triboelectric series to describe the outcome of rubbing:
(a) glass with silk;
(b) rubber with woollen cloth; B 4 C
(c) insulated gold with cat fur.
2 Draw a diagram showing the electrostatic outcome of two Perspex rods rubbed
with silk cloth and freely suspended in close proximity to each other.
3 Draw a set of diagrams to explain the outcome of bringing the following within
close proximity of, but not touching, a neutral electroscope:
(a) a negatively charged rod;
(b) a positively charged rod.
4 In a particular chemical reaction an iron atom (Fe) becomes a ferric ion (Fe3+).
(b)
Determine the charge on this ion in coulombs and describe what has occurred in
terms of electron transfer. B 5 C
5 Consider Figure 21.10(a). A and B are identical insulated metal spheres with
charges as shown. What is the charge on each sphere after they are touched
together and then separated?
6 Consider Figure 21.10(b). A and B are insulated metal spheres with charges as
shown. If sphere A has twice the radius of sphere B, what will be the charge on
each sphere after they are touched together and separated? (Remember, charge
resides equally distributed over the surface of a spherical metallic conductor.)
21.5 C O U L O M B S L AW A +10 C
It has been seen that when electrically charged objects are brought into close proximity, there
is a force between them that is either attractive or repulsive, depending on the nature of the
charges. Charles-Augustin Coulomb in the late eighteenth century used a very sensitive
electrostatic torsion bar balance system to investigate the nature of this force. From careful
measurements made on the quantity of charge, the distances between charges and the forces
acting on the charges, Coulomb was able to show that:
the magnitude of the force was proportional to the product of the charges
the magnitude of the force was inversely proportional to the square of the distance
separating the charges
the direction of the force was along a line joining the centres of the charges
the magnitude of the force was dependent on the medium in which the charges were
placed.
These points can be summarised mathematically as:
Q1Q2 Q1Q2
F or F=k for charges in air
d2 d2

Figure 21.11 where Q1 and Q2 are the charges in coulombs (C); d is the separation of the charges in
Coulombs law of attraction. 1 1
metres (m); and k = = = 9.00 109 N m2 C2. The constant epsilon-
Q1 Q2 40 4 8.85 1012
zero is called the permittivity of free space.
+ _ This equation is referred to as Coulombs law and it must always be remembered that the
F F force involved is a vector quantity. For two charges in isolation the direction of the force will
be repulsive if the charges are the same sign and attractive if the charges are opposite in sign
d (Figure 21.11).
The vector nature of this law is also very important if a system of two or more charges
is considered. In this case it is necessary to determine the resultant electrostatic force in
both magnitude and direction using vector addition techniques. In problems dealing with
Coulombs law it is often convenient to consider the charges as point charges. This is possi-
ble whenever the separation distance of the charges is very large compared with the size of
the charges themselves.
Example
Figure 21.12 QC = 4 108 C
System of charges.
A B
+ +
60 60
FBC FAC
20
120 F
60
cm
+
C
Consider the system of charges as illustrated in Figure 21.12. Deduce the magnitude and
direction of the force on charge C. Each charge is +4.0 108 C and they are arranged in an
equilateral triangle of side 20 cm.
Solution
The force on charge C will be the vector resultant of both forces labelled FAC and FBC as shown,
which are equal to each other in magnitude.
Calculate the magnitude of each force vector:
9 109 4 108 4 108 = 3.6 10 4 N

(0.2)2
Force (F) may now be calculated using the cosine rule for triangles:
F2 = FAC2 + F BC2 (2 FAC F BC cos 120 )

F2 = (3.6 10 4) 2 + (3.6 10 4) 2 (2 3.6 10 4 3.6 10 4 0.5)
F2 = 3.89 10 7 N
F = 6.2 10 4 N
The force is repulsive and will be directed vertically down the page or at an angle of 30
degrees to the line of the force FAC.
Note: this problem may also be solved by dividing the diagram up into smaller right-angled
triangles and using simpler Pythagorean calculations.
Electrostatics 453
Questions N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
7 Within an atomic helium nucleus, two protons are separated by a distance of This one is only if you do
1 1014 m. What is the size of the Coulomb repulsion force between them? chemistry as well. In his book,
Recall that the charge on a proton is the same as the charge on the electron. The Ascent of Science, Professor
8 Two point charges A and B each have charge +Q coulombs and are separated Brian Silver says that if you had
by a distance r metres. If the force acting between them is 6 104 N: two sugar cubes and transferred
(a) is the force attractive or repulsive; (b) what is the force if distance r is one electron of each billion
doubled; (c) what is the force if charge Q on both A and B is doubled; electrons in one of the cubes
(d) what is the force if charge Q on both is halved, but so is the distance to the other cube, the force
between them? between the two cubes would
9 Four point charges A, B, C and D are arranged on corners of a square of side equal the weight of boxer
25 cm. If A and B each have a charge of +1 C while C and D each have a charge Mohammed Ali (1000 N) when
of +2 C, what is the resultant force on a charge of +1 C placed at the centre of the cubes were placed 1 km
the square? apart. Sucrose (sugar) has the
formula C12H22O11 and a
molar mass of 342.
21.6 ELECTRIC FIELDS Assuming a cube of it has a mass
of 5 g, what figure do you get?
Like other fields existing in physics, such as a gravitational field, we can define a region We get nothing like 1000 N.
containing an electric field as that in which any electrified object will experience a force.
This makes it a similar concept to a mass experiencing a gravitational force of attraction to,
say, the Earth. Electric fields exist in space around electrically charged objects and physicists
define both the electric field magnitude or strength and its direction. Electric field strength,
E, is thus a vector quantity. The main difference between electric fields and gravitational
fields is that the latter only has attractive forces, whereas electrical fields can
provide both attractive and repulsive forces.
The magnitude of the electric field, or its electric field strength at any point, is defined
as the force acting on a test unit charge placed at that point in the field. The direction of the
electric field at any point is given by the resultant force direction acting on a test positive
unit charge placed at that point in the field. Thus mathematically, electric field strength is
defined with the following equation:
F
E=
q
Electric field strength has standard units of N C1 (newtons per coulomb).

F Figure 21.13
Electric field diagram surrounding
a point charge +Q.
q
kQq
F=
d2
d
+Q
d
kQ
E=
d2
Consider a point source of positive charge, +Q, as shown in Figure 21.13. If a small test
positive charge, q, was moved around the charge Q, then forces of repulsion would be felt in

Figure 21.14 radial lines directed outward. The further away q was moved along these lines the weaker the
Electric field diagrams in cross-section. electric field strength would get. At all times the force magnitude would be given by
Coulombs law and thus the electric field strength, E, at some distance d from the charge Q
(a)
would be:
F kQq 1 kQ
E= = 2 = d2
Q q d q
and its direction is radially outward.

This equation therefore describes the electric field strength at a point d from a large point
charge Q. The electric field strength E is defined as having a value of zero at an infinite
(b) distance from the source. Note that Figure 21.13 is representing the nature of the electric
field in a two-dimensional cross-section only and the actual zone of influence is always
in three dimensions around point charges. Figure 21.14 gives cross-sectional electric field dia-
+Q Q
grams showing the two-dimensional field lines present in several situations where there may
be more than one charge influence involved. It is important to realise that:
electric field lines never cross, in a diagram
electric field lines are directed from positive charge to negative charge
electric field lines will enter or leave any charged surface at right angles
(c) if electric field lines are close together or more densely packed per unit area, the
force per unit charge is much higher, that is, there is greater electric field strength.
Q Notice that in Figure 21.14(d) the electric field lines between parallel charged plates is
very uniform in nature. This uniform electric field will produce a constant force on any test
charge held between plates independent of position. In 1909 an American physicist Robert
+Q +Q Millikan used the very uniform electric field between charged parallel metallic plates to
investigate the nature of electric charge itself. Millikan was able to balance the electric force
on charged oil droplets sprayed between the plates with the droplets own gravitational
weight. By carefully measuring the mass of these oil droplets and changing their electric
(d) charge with X-rays, Millikan was able to calculate a value for the charge on an electron. He
won the Nobel prize in physics in 1923 for his work on the electrostatics of elementary
+ + + + + + +
charges.
Research work in more recent years has concluded that particles called quarks have less
electric charge than the elementary electron. Several different types of quarks are thought to
exist in theory, making up protons and neutrons. Quarks are postulated to have charges of
+ 32 e and 31 e but particle physicists have not yet been able to detect a free quark existing by
itself in their research or experiments. (Refer to Chapter 29.)
Example
Figure 21.15 Figure 21.15 shows two point charges A and B separated by a distance of 15 cm.
Diagram of point charges A and B. (a) Determine the magnitude and direction of the electric field at a point X midway
A 3.5 C B 2.5 C
between the two charges.
(b) Determine the point between the charges at which the electric field strength is
+ + zero.
X
Solution
d = 15 cm (a) The electric field at X is the vector sum of the fields due to each point charge.
Q 9.00 109 3.5 106

EA = k = = 5.6 10 6 N C 1 toward B
d 2 (7.5 102)2
Q 9.00 109 2.5 106
EB = k 2 = = 4.0 10 6 N C 1 toward A
d (7.5 102)2
Electrostatics 455
Hence the resultant: E = 5.6 106 4.0 106 = 1.6 106 N C1 toward B
Heres a good idea we overheard
at a UFO conference. To launch
(b) The point where the electric field is zero is the point where the electric field EA is
a rocket, it was suggested that
numerically equal to the electric field EB, but opposite in direction. Let this take
1 gram of hydrogen ions be
place at a distance s from A. Thus:
placed aboard a rocket and then
another gram of H+ ions be
| E A| = | E B| wheeled underneath in a
wheelbarrow (say 1 metre
9.00 109 3.5 106 9.00 109 2.5 106
2 = away). One gram of hydrogen
s (15 s)2
ions (H+) contains 6 1023
3.5 10 6 (15 s) 2 = 2.5 10 6 s 2 particles. So the big positive
0.3s 2 30s + 225 = 0 charge in the rocket would be
repelled by the big positive
s = 8.1 cm from A
charge in the wheelbarrow
(about a billion billion newtons)
and this would be sufficient
force to launch the rocket.
21.7 E L E C T R I C P OT E N T I A L S Calculate the force and the initial
acceleration of a 100 tonne rocket.
What is the major flaw in this
The gravitational field analogy can be used again when discussing the energy stored in an
design?
electric field. Recall that in gravitation, work was needed to lift a mass against the direction
of the gravitational field and as this work was done, gravitational potential energy was stored
in the mass. The energy stored was equivalent to the work done, W, and calculated using
W = mgh. Similarly, it requires work to be done to move electric charges of the same polarity
together, as the force of mutual repulsion is overcome. Consider a point positive charge q
moved from infinity towards another point positive charge Q. The force of repulsion is the
Coulomb force and the work done in moving the charge q to a point in space at a distance d
from the charge Q is given by:
W=qEd
Compare this formula with the work done on a mass m in a gravity field g shown above.
This relationship for electrical work done is true even though the nature of the Coulomb
force of repulsion in the field is not uniform. By using very small incremental distances and
mathematical calculus techniques, it is possible to verify that the total work done is the same
as the sum of all incremental force by distance calculations.
+q Figure 21.16
F Work done within an electric field.
kQ
E=
d2
d work is done
+Q
+q work is not done

Also remember that because W = F d cos , if the charge is moved perpendicular to the
field lines then no work at all will be done. The work done in moving charge q will subse-
quently store electrostatic potential energy in the charge q. If the repulsive force between
the charges is allowed to act by itself then the stored electrostatic potential energy will be
converted back into kinetic energy of motion. This effect can be made use of in electrostatic
charge accelerators, especially when the uniform field of parallel charged plates is present
(Figure 21.16).
It is common to refer to the electric potential (V) of a point in space within any given
electric field. The electric potential V at any point is the work done in moving a unit positive
charge from infinity to that point. The electric potential V is thus the electrostatic potential
energy stored per unit charge at any given point d from a charge Q. Thus:
W qEd kQ
V= = q =Ed=
q d
Electric potential at a point is a scalar quantity and is measured in units of joules per
coulomb (J C1). One joule per coulomb is also known as a volt. 1 volt (V) = 1 J C1. Of course,
moving unit positive charges from infinity to a point d within the field of a point charge Q is
not particularly realistic, and hence the term potential difference is more useful in that it
describes the difference in potential between two positions within the field, neither of which
is at infinity (Figure 21.17). The potential difference is the work done in moving a unit charge
from position one in the field to position two in the field.
Figure 21.17
Electric potential difference
d1
between two points in a field.
d2
V2 q V1 from q
+Q 2 1 infinity
V = V 2 V 1 = W12 W 12 = q V = q(V 2 V 1)
q
Potential differences become very useful in electric circuit work, which will be discussed
in the next chapter. If both ends of an electrical conductor are held at different potentials
(by connecting to the opposite poles of a battery, say!) then a potential difference is set up
across the conductor and the subsequent electric field within the conductor will allow free
electrons to flow. This is what is referred to as an electric current within the conductor.
Example
charge A midpoint charge B
Figure 21.18 0.05 m 0.05 m

Potential difference between
two charges.
voltage
6.5 C (V) +8.3 C
Consider Figure 21.18, with charges A and B of 6.5 C and +8.3 C respectively, in space. If
these charges are separated by a distance of 10 cm, find the potential at the midpoint
between their centres.
Electrostatics 457
Solution
The potential at the midpoint will be the scalar addition of the potentials due to each charge.
Potential at midpoint due to charge A is:
VA = kQ = 9.00 10 6.5 10 = 1.2 10 6 V

9 6
d 0.05
Potential at midpoint due to charge B is:
VB = kQ = 9.00 10 8.3 10 = +1.5 10 6 V

9 6
d 0.05
Hence V Total = V A + V B = 0.3 10 6 V = 3.0 10 5 V
equipotentials Figure 21.19

Uniform electric field between
+ + + + + + + parallel conductive plates.
q potential
difference
F
E
d 20 V
field lines
Recall in the previous section that the electric field between a set of parallel conductive
plates (Millikan plates or a capacitor) is very uniform in nature. Consider now the electric
potentials involved in this situation (Figure 21.19). If the plates are separated by a distance
d and the potential difference between the plates is maintained by a battery of voltage V, this
voltage is the work done in moving a test charge q from one plate to another.
V= W or W=qV
q
The test charge q would also experience a force in the field and work done against this force
to move the charge across the plate separation would be given by:
W=Fd=qEd
Thus within this uniform electric field:
qV=qEd or V=EdE=V
d
which defines the electric field strength in the alternative unit of volts per metre (V m1).
Volts per metre are equivalent to newtons per coulomb (N C1). If lines are drawn in the region
between the parallel plates that join points of equal potential, they would be parallel to the
plates and spaced equal distances apart. These lines are called equipotentials.

The energy unit used in atomic physics is called the electron-volt (eV) and is defined
using the fields of parallel plates. If an electron moves across a potential difference of 1 volt,
then work done is:
W = q V = 1.6 10 19 C 1.0 V = 1.6 10 19 J
Thus 1 eV = 1.6 1019 J.

It can be seen that this energy unit is considerably smaller than the joule energy unit
and as such is useful in atomic structure research. Particles leaving radioactive atoms can
possess millions of electron-volts and accelerator machines used in high energy physics
laboratories can develop particle energies of giga or tera electron-volts (GeV, TeV).
Example
In a Millikan-type experiment a suspended negatively charged latex sphere has a mass of
5.7 107 g and is held at rest between the plates with potential difference V of 280 volts.
If the plates are separated by a distance of 4.0 mm:
(a) draw a diagram of the apparatus in cross-section and label the plate polarity
correctly;
(b) calculate the electric field strength;
(c) calculate the charge on the latex sphere in both coulombs and elementary charges.
Solution
(a) Plates must be oriented with positive plate uppermost so that the electric field
force balances the downward gravitational force.
V 280
(b) Using E = = = 7.0 104 V m1 down.
d 4.0 103
(c) Since the gravitational force balances the electrical force:
qE =mg
q = mg = 5.7 10 9.8 = 8.0 10 14 C

10
E 7.0 104
8.0 1014
= 5.0 10 5 electrons
1.6 1019
Questions
10 Draw the cross-sectional electric field diagram for a system of negative charges,
all situated at the corners of an equilateral triangle.
11 What is the electric field strength 0.2 m from a point charge of 6 C in both
magnitude and direction?
12 A metal sphere of radius 35 cm carries a charge over its surface of 16 C. What is
the potential at its surface?
13 Two points in space are at electric potentials of +18 V and 6 V respectively.
Calculate (a) the potential difference between these two points and (b) the
work done in moving a charge of 5.5 C from one to the other.
14 Two metal plates are placed vertically 30 mm apart and a potential difference of
300 volts is applied. (The top plate is positive.)
(a) Calculate the electric field between the plates.
(b) If a negative charge of 6 C is placed in the field at a point 10 mm above
the earth plate, what force acts on it?
(c) Calculate the energy gained by the charge as it is moved up to the positive
plate.
Electrostatics 459
21.8 A P P L I C AT I O N S O F E L E C T R O S TAT I C S
Activity 21.1 SPECIAL ELECTROSTATIC EFFECTS
Each of the situations described below involves an application of electrostatic cause and
effect. Read each short paragraph and try to explain on paper, with diagrams, the physics
involved in each application. Answer the questions following each section.
1 Conductive tyres or discharge straps on vehicles Aircraft and large fuel tanker trucks
often have tyres made of conductive rubber so that electric charge built up during
travel through the air will discharge quickly to the ground. If this precaution is not
available, special conductive straps are attached between the ground and the plane
or truck body before any fuel exchange takes place. Some people attach conductive
straps to cars, which touch the ground as the car drives along. These straps are to
earth the car so that electrostatic charge built up during travel will not cause
annoying electric discharges to the passengers as they get out of the vehicle.
Would it be better to connect the strap to the ground or to the plane first?
2 Lightning arrestors on tall buildings During thunderstorms clouds build up very
large potentials due to charge separation within the cloud. This effect induces a
large build-up of charge onto buildings and objects rising up from the ground, which
could act as discharge points or points for lightning to strike. Lightning arrestors
are a series of upwardly pointing metal rods or spikes, often ornately shaped, which
are connected to a copper earthing strap that runs down the building to the earth.
This system allows rapid discharge to the air of charge built up at the top of the
building and thus helps to prevent lightning strikes (Figure 21.20).
Figure 21.20
+ ++ + +++ thundercloud Applications of electrostatic
__ principles: lightning arrestors.
_ __ _ __ _ _
discharge
slowly lightning
strike
+ +
++++ ++++
+++
e-
buildings
ground earth
strap
Some people think that the arrestors carry lightning strikes to ground after the
building has been hit by lightning. Explain whether or not this is true.
3 Factory chimney precipitators Smokestacks in modern industrial factories are
fitted with a system of electrostatic precipitators. These consist of charged
plates or helical coils around the top of the chimney stacks, which are held at
a high positive electric potential. Smoke and ash debris formed in furnaces
is often negatively charged, so that instead of being emitted to the air it is
attracted to the plates and coils and precipitates out. This allows for collection
of the solid material for periodic cleaning. You can model this effect quite easily
with a gas jar full of smoke and several turns of copper wire wound around the
body of the gas jar. If an induction coil is then connected across this coil and
the central deflagrating metal spoon placed into the gas jar and turned on, the
smoke very rapidly dissipates (Figure 21.21).
Explain how the smoke particles in the chimney might become charged in the
real situation. How are the smoke particles charged in the lab model?

Figure 21.21 deflagrating spoon

Model electrostatic precipitator.
smole
particles
high
voltage
gas jar
induction
coil
4 Faraday cages preventing radio reception Have you ever had the experience of
listening to your car radio and on entering a large city multi-storey car-park the
radio goes weak or disappears altogether? This effect can often occur as you
drive across a large enclosed bridge structure such as the Story Bridge in
Brisbane or the Sydney Harbour Bridge. These reinforced concrete car-parks or
metal bridges are earthed and no electromagnetic fields can enter them; recall
that an electric field cannot exist within a hollow metal sphere. Faraday cages,
named after Michael Faraday, do not have to be solid structures. An effective
electrostatic field protective cage can be made out of metal wire mesh. Often
these types of cages are used in the walls of laboratory rooms to help to prevent
;;;
electrostatic or electromagnetic fields from interfering with sensitive electrical
or computing instrumentation. (See Figure 21.22.)
Figure 21.22 outside radio metal

Faraday cage effect. signal reinforcing
(f) rods in
concrete
;;;
no fields can
enter
Certain sections of radio and television receiver circuitry are often located inside
a metal can housing on the local circuit board. Explain what section of the
electronic circuitry is covered up, and why this might be the case.
Interesting applications of electrostatic fields are found in certain species of electric fish
and rays. The South American eel-shaped fish (Electrophorus electricus) and the electric
catfish (Malapterurus electricus) can deliver shocks from 450 to over 700 volts. Large torpedo
rays (numbfish) can produce up to about 200 volts. Gymnotid eels and knife fishes generally
produce much lower voltages in pulses from about 30 to 1700 hertz, which set up electric
fields around their bodies. All these fish generate electricity in modified muscle tissue bun-
dles called electroplates, located on both sides of their bodies. Stimulated by the autonomic
nervous system these muscles generate large electric pulses instead of contracting as normal
muscles do. The more powerful electric discharges can certainly stun or even kill prey
directly; however, in the main, the specialised sensory nerves within the animal are sensitive
to disturbances of the electric field surrounding it. Thus the fish uses the electric field it
generates as a type of radar system to locate prey at night or in muddy waters.
Electrostatics 461
A common machine in offices, schools and businesses today is the electrostatic photo-
copier. A charged plate within the machine receives a light reflected copy of the original
page. The reflected dark image from the original causes the plate to remain charged in those
areas that are copies of the original typing or diagrams. Carbon black is attracted to these
charged areas of the plate and transferred to paper as it is pressed against it. The final step
is to heat the carboned paper so that the powdered carbon is fused to the paper and made
permanent. You will have noticed that if the photocopier is not working properly, the carbon
black on the photocopy smudges easily or wipes off.
An electron gun is an assembly that forms the centre of instruments such as a cathode
ray oscilloscope (CRO), a television picture tube (CRT) or computer monitor, as well as an
accelerating device for particle accelerators (Figure 21.23). Electrons are boiled off the
heated filament wire and enter the evacuated space between a pair of charged parallel plates.
The voltage across these plates provides a field and an electrostatic force that accelerates the
electrons from rest across the gap. The electrons are moving at very high speeds and continue
on through an opening in the positive grid plate. Once the electron beam leaves the gun
assembly it can be further controlled by electric or magnetic fields, such as occurs in a tele-
vision tube, to provide the observable image on the screen. Formulae studied so far can be
used to predict the kinetic energy and thus the velocity of the electron as it leaves the gun
assembly. If the accelerating voltage is V and the charge on the electron is qe then the work
done by the accelerating force is converted into kinetic energy of the moving electron, thus:

qe V = mv v = 2 qe V
2
2 m
This is referred to as the electron gun velocity formula, but it could be applied to any charge
q of mass m accelerated through a potential difference V.
accelerating plates Figure 21.23
An electron gun assembly.
+
+
E +
+
constant
+ velocity
filament accelerating v
heater
circuit e force outside
+ accelerating
plates
+
+
+
+
high voltage (V)
Example
If the accelerating voltage in an electron gun assembly is 350 volts, determine the kinetic
energy of the electrons as they leave the gun and the velocity of projection into the
evacuated space outside the gun plates.
Solution
Kinetic energy of the electrons equals the work done as they cross the potential difference:
W = q e V = 1.6 10 19 350 = 5.6 10 17 J

This work done equals the exit kinetic energy, so if the mass of the electrons is
9.11 1031 kg, then using the formula derived:
2 2
5.6 10 17 = mv = 9.11 10 31 v
2 2

v = 2 5.6 10
17
= 1.1 10 7 m s 1
9.11 10 31
Practice questions
*15 Explain why a balloon rubbed with a piece of woollen cloth might stick to a wall
notice-board without falling.
*16 State the charge on both materials if a piece of Perspex plate is rubbed with a
silk cloth.
*17 Explain the movement of charge when a negatively charged Van de Graaff
generator is momentarily earthed by touching it.
*18 Two charges repel with a force of 2.8 101 N. If one charge is +6.5 106 C and
they are separated by 0.8 m in air, what is the value of the second charge?
*19 If a charge of 15 C experiences a force of 750 N when placed in an electric field,
deduce the strength of the field in correct units.
**20 An oil droplet experiences an electrostatic force of 5.6 1014 N when placed
into a uniform electric field of 4000 volts per metre. What is the magnitude of
the oil droplets charge?
**21 Two small metal-coated styrofoam spheres each of mass 2.80 106 kg are
attached to nylon threads 45.0 cm long and hung from a common point. The
spheres are then charged equally negative and the angle each supporting thread
makes with the vertical is 16. Calculate the charge on each sphere.
**22 A metal sphere carries a charge of 20 C. If it has a diameter of 20 cm, what will
be the potential, V, at its surface?
*23 Find the electric potential at a radial distance of 1.6 m from a point source of
charge of value +8.2 C.
**24 Two metal plates are oppositely charged and are separated by a distance of
4.5 mm in a vacuum. If a voltage of 520 V is connected across the plates, with
the top plate positive, what is (a) the strength of the electric field between the
plates; (b) the force on a test charge having an excess of 50 electrons on it
placed between the plates?
**25 An electron in the gun of a CR tube is accelerated by a potential of 3.0 103 V.
What is the kinetic energy of the electron in eV and J? What is the exit speed of
the electron from the CR tube gun?
Electrostatics 463
**26 A positively charged ion particle of mass 9.60 1026 kg enters a uniform Figure 21.24
For question 26.
electric field of strength 20 N C1 at right angles with an initial speed of
1200 m s1, as shown in Figure 21.24. If the ionic charge is
0.01 m
8.0 1019 C:
(a) calculate the magnitude and direction of the force on
the charged ion;
(b) calculate the acceleration of the ion particle in E = 20 N C1
the field;
(c) calculate the time of travel of the ion particle in the
field; V = 1200 m s1
(d) calculate the final displacement and velocity in the
direction of the field;
(e) describe the probable path of the ion particle in the
field.
**27 The shaded area in Figure 21.25 represents an isolated charged metal object
in cross-section. The surrounding lines are equipotentials. Use the diagram to
analyse: Figure 21.25
For question 27.
(a) near which point the electric field is strongest;
(b) the potential difference between A and B; Equipotentials + 100 V
(c) the potential difference between A and C; + 200 V
+ 300 V
(d) the energy lost in moving a charge of +4.5 109 C from C to A; + 400 V
(e) the energy gained in moving the same charge from A to D.
C
* 28 What is meant by the phrase The Earth has zero potential? Research this idea
A
and report the outcome diagrammatically. B
*29 Draw a sequence of diagrams to illustrate a technique for charging an electroscope
negatively using an induction technique. D
**30 In an experiment to replicate Coulombs original experiment with electrostatic
charges, a student set up a torsional balance as shown in Figure 21.26. The
apparatus enabled the student to measure the twist in the suspension wire as
the free charge tried to rotate away from the fixed charge. From the value of the
twist, the student derived a value for the electrostatic force of repulsion between
the two spheres. Part of the students data is shown in the data table.
Unfortunately, two of the data points have been obscured by a chocolate smudge.
(a) Using graph paper, plot a graph to show the relationship between the
electrostatic force and the separation distance.
(b) From your data, estimate the two readings obscured by the chocolate smudge.
(c) What relationship between the force and the distance is suggested by your
graph? Explain your answer.
DATA TABLE Figure 21.26
For question 30.
Av. Force Separation
wire 28.4 units 0.75 cm
F 16.0 1.00
10.2 1.25
+
1.50
1.75
d
+ 4.00 2.00
1.80 3.00
1.00 4.00

(d) How would you check your hypothesis given in answer (b)?
(e) Carry out the suggestion you made in (d).
(f) Suggest how the distance between the centres of the two spheres could have
been measured.
(g) Explain why the student would have made repeated measurements instead of
just one reading in each case.
*** 31 Two charged particles Q (+2.5 C) and q (+1.0 C) are separated by varying
distances, d, and their mutual force of repulsion, F, is measured. Tabulated data
are presented below:
F (N) 2.3 0.36 0.14 0.06 0.04 0.028

d (m) 0.1 0.25 0.4 0.6 0.85 0.9
(a) Which of these data points is in greatest error?

(b) Determine graphically a value for the Coulomb constant k.
***32 Figure 21.27 represents a simplified diagram of the evacuated interior of a
computer monitors CR tube. Electrons are accelerated from the gun filament,
pass through point X and enter the region between the deflecting plates YY1,
before finally striking the screen. If the electron mass is 9.1 1031 kg:
(a) calculate the time of travel within the deflecting region YY1;
(b) state the vertical displacement of the electron in the deflecting region YY1;
(c) what is the electron velocity as it reaches the screen at the end of the CR
tube?
Figure 21.27
For question 32.
+ 50 V
X
0.022 m
+
Y
Figure 21.28
For question 33.
screen
0.02 m
(a) e
Y1
320 V
X ***33 Two metal-coated spheres X and Y are suspended from light insulating threads of
Y equal length. The spheres are of equal radii, and each carries an electric charge.
Figure 21.28(a) shows the positions of the charged spheres at equilibrium. If the
two spheres are touched together and then separated they come to rest in new
(b) equilibrium positions, as seen in Figure 21.28(b). A student who was asked to
explain these results makes the following correct deductions:
(a) The sign of the charges on the two spheres was not the same.
(b) The magnitude of the charges on the two spheres was unequal.
(c) The mass of sphere X was less than that of sphere Y.
Use the information contained in the figures to justify each of the students
deductions.
X Y
Electrostatics 465
CHAPTER 22
Electric Circuits
22.1 INTRODUCTION
Electrical energy is very important in our lives, as evidenced by the great inconvenience when
it is not available for instance, trying to cope without refrigeration when camping, or
trying to cope without cooking appliances during electrical blackouts caused by industrial
strikes or storm damage. The great explosion in technology in the twentieth century has been
almost solely due to applications of electrical energy. The information age to which we belong
would not be possible without methods of distributing large quantities of electrical energy
for operating appliances or being able to store and transmit information across telephone,
television and computer networks.
The electrical age began around 200 years ago when it was discovered how to store
electrical energy and thus control it, rather than just deal with its electrostatic effects.
The Italian scientists Luigi Galvani (173798) and Count Alessandro Volta (17451827)
experimented with electrical effects in animal tissues, showing that the nervous system is
electrically operated. Volta was able to produce the first example of an electric battery, which
he called a pile, constructed from a series of pairs of dissimilar metal electrodes separated
by moist cloth layers. Today we call this apparatus a voltaic battery or just a battery.
In this chapter we will examine the various effects of electric current, together with a
model for its behaviour and the laws under which it flows in circuits. By the end of the
chapter questions such as:
what causes electric current to flow?
what controls the direction of electric current flow?
how is electric current measured?
which is the more dangerous, voltage or current?
how can we use electrical energy safely?
how will electrical energy affect me in the future?
which you may have asked in the past, will be able to be answered satisfactorily.
Although electrical energy is widely used in modern society, it should never be treated
lightly as it can become extremely dangerous when used inappropriately.
Activity 22.1 ELECTRICITY AROUND THE HOME

1 Examine the following electrical devices found around the home and find the
voltage marked on each: torch battery, car battery, calculator battery, watch
battery.
2 Look at several light bulbs and determine the wattage rating marked on each.
3 Determine how many electric cable wires are coming into your house from the
distribution pole in your street.

ELECTRIC CHARGES IN MOTION 22.2

In Chapter 21 we saw that an electric potential difference applied across a set of parallel
plates causes an electric field with a resulting force acting on any electric charges within the
field. In this chapter this idea will be taken further to define the nature of electric current in
various types of conductors.
Figure 22.1 free electron sea fixed innermost electrons nuclei fixed (positive)
Metallic lattice. Positive nuclei in a (negative)
sea of mobile electrons.
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
Generally metals are very good conductors of electric current. (Refer to Section 21.3.)
This is because metal elements contain loosely bonded valence electrons in their outermost
atomic electron shells. These are available for shared bonds with other nuclei. This atomic
bonding pattern within blocks of metals creates a virtual sea of electrons within the metal,
allowing very easy motion of the electron particles under the influence of an applied electric
field (Figure 22.1). The non-metal graphite is also a good conductor because of a similar
pattern of loosely bound electrons within its solid crystalline lattice structure. Within metals
it is therefore the negative electron particles that are free to move through a fixed nuclei
lattice of positive charges.
Consider crystalline solids such as sodium chloride (common salt NaCl). If this
substance is dissolved in water, it dissociates into positive sodium ions (neutral atoms that
have lost electrons) and negative chloride ions (neutral atoms that have gained electrons).
Salt solution is referred to as an electrolyte. If an electric field is placed across this type of
material, then charge movement of both positive and negative ions will occur. This is referred
to as electrolyte conduction. A typical voltaic or electrolytic cell is shown in Figure 22.2,
involving both electrolyte conduction and metallic conduction.
battery
Figure 22.2
Electrolyte conduction. +
electrons electrons
+
metal
electrode
+

positive and negative
+ ions in solution

E l e c t r i c C i rc u i t s 467
Gaseous substances are normally insulators and will not conduct electricity due mainly to
the wide spacing between nuclei and possible charge carriers. Gases can be made to conduct
if the atoms are given enough energy by either heating or high voltage, or by irradiating with
ultraviolet light or X-rays. Under these conditions the atoms of the gas are stripped of some
of their electrons, the atoms become ionised, and charge motion due to both ions and free
electrons can occur (Figure 22.3).
free electrons (negative) Figure 22.3

Gaseous conduction.
(positive)
electrodes charged ions
+
+ neutral
atoms
of gas
high voltage source
Let us return to conduction within typical metals. Consider a piece of copper conductor
that has been drawn out into a fine wire owing to its very good ductility. The valence elec-
trons within the metallic lattice are moving about at very high speed in random directions.
If an external electric field is applied through the copper wire by means of a potential differ-
ence across its ends, then the free electrons will move under the influence of electric forces
towards the higher potential. Remember, any one particular electron will experience a force
F = qE (Figure 22.4).
electric field copper wire Figure 22.4

Drift velocity in metals.
E potential
difference
e
v
+
e
E
typical electron
path
Because the metallic lattice contains large numbers of nuclei, the electrons in motion
undergo collisions that slow their progress. In general, the electrons drift at a particular
terminal velocity characteristic of the conductor, which is known as the electron drift
velocity, v. Typical metals have values for drift velocities of about 1 104 m s1. The flow of
electric current along the wire occurs much more rapidly because an electrostatic repulsive
pulse between neighbouring electrons occurs as soon as the electrons begin to move under
the influence of the applied electric field. We would imagine an electron entering one end of
the wire and, almost instantaneously, another electron being repelled from the opposite
end of the wire. The actual electric current, I, flowing along the wire is the total number of
electrons, q, passing any given point in the wire every second, t. If the rate of flow is
constant then:
I = charge = q
time t

The unit of electric current is the ampere or amp (A). One ampere of electric current is
thus a flow of charge of 1 coulomb per second. 1 A = 6.25 1018 electrons per second. One
ampere of current is quite large. In most electric circuits currents of microamps (A) or
milliamps (mA) are more common. Electric current is measured with an ammeter. (Refer to
Section 22.5.)
Figure 22.5 (a) (b)

The water model.
water +
water pump battery
flow rate conventional

meter current
ammeter flow
turbine A
light bulb
water pipes
conductor wires
It is very useful to consider an analogy such as a water model when considering the flow
of electric charge. (See Figure 22.5.) The water mechanical pump is the equivalent of the elec-
tric battery. The water pipes are the equivalent of the electrical conductors and the water
itself is analogous to the electric charges in motion, that is, the current. Note that as the
water flows around the pipe circuit it can provide energy to run a water wheel, just as charge
flowing around an electric circuit can provide energy to operate a light bulb. It is important
to realise that in the water pipes water never gets used up, it just keeps getting recycled. The
same thing occurs with electric charge. The electric charge doesnt get used up; it will keep
flowing until the battery potential difference is reduced to zero as a result of energy trans-
ferred to the light bulb.
An electric circuit must be a complete closed loop path. In this case, the charges flow
from the battery through the conductors to the light bulb and deliver the energy given to
them by the battery. If the path is not complete, charge will not flow and the current stops.
This is called an open circuit. If the battery terminals are connected directly together
without the circuit containing a device such as a light bulb to restrict the amount of charge
flowing, then a short circuit occurs. This is a very dangerous situation as the very large
current that may flow can cause heating of the conductors, and subsequent fires. In fact, it
is possible to cause sparking and welding of the metal conductors when very large batteries
are short-circuited.
It is a historical fact that experiments were carried out with electricity and electrostatic
charge long before the nature of atomic electrons was discovered. Benjamin Franklin had
originally used the term positive charge in electrostatics and early experimental work on
electric current assumed that the charges in motion in conductors were positive charges and
that they flowed along conductors from the higher positive potential to the lower negative
potential (a little like water naturally flowing downhill). It is still common in physics and
electric circuit analysis to refer to conventional current as the motion of positive charges
from positive to negative. This is the convention used in this textbook. Electron flow is
the direction of actual electron particle motion in a conductor from negative to positive. One
amp of conventional current in one direction is the same as one amp of electron flow in the
opposite direction. Recall that the convention for E, electric field direction, is that in which
a positive test charge will move.
When electric charge flows from the source of charge around a circuit in the one direc-
tion, as in Figure 22.5, the type of current is called direct current (DC). Batteries and
voltaic cells provide DC. The magnitude and direction of the flow is constant over time.
Figure 22.6(a) illustrates this I,t relationship graphically. If the magnitude of the rate of Figure 22.6
flow of charge changes without the direction of flow changing in a circuit, then the instan- AC and DC waveforms.
taneous electric current can be found from the slope of the I,t graph as in Figure 22.6(b). An
(a)
electric generator device involving rotating coils of wire in a magnetic field (refer to Chapter
26) will produce electric currents that vary in both magnitude and direction many times per +
second. This oscillating type of current flow in a conductor is called alternating current (AC)
and is represented graphically in Figure 22.6(c). Industrial and household electricity is dis-
tributed via this type of current flow. (Refer to Sections 22.6 and 22.7.)
Current, I
Example
A particular type of metal has an estimated 1 1023 free electrons per metre of its length. If
this metal carries an electric current of 1.4 amps, estimate the drift velocity of the electrons
through the metal.
Time, t
Solution
Let the conductor contain n electrons per metre.
Let the electron drift velocity be v m s1. (b)
In a time of t seconds, a total number of electrons = nvt will pass a given point. +
This represents a total charge Q = nqvt, if the charge on one electron is q coulombs.
But electric current is calculated:
nt
ge
tan
Current, I
Q nqvt
I= I= = nqv
t t
I 1.4
thus: v= =
nq 1.0 1023 1.6 1019
v = 8.7 10 5 m s 1 Time, t
which represents the drift velocity in the metal.

(c)
+
22.3 E L E C T R O M OT I V E F O R C E A N D V O LTA G E
Recall that in the previous section it was stated that a battery can supply direct current (DC). Current, I
Let us take this idea further to see why this is possible. A simple cell consists of two dis-
similar metals separated by a conducting solution. If several simple cells are joined together
the combined arrangement is called a battery. For example, the normal 12 volt car battery
usually has six individual cells connected together. The simple cell allows two dissimilar
metals to be separated by a conducting electrolyte solution or paste. In a copper-zinc cell Time, t
such as in Figure 22.7, chemical reactions cause the copper electrode to become positively
charged and the zinc electrode to become negatively charged with a potential difference of
about 1.0 V. The familiar carbon-zinc dry cell (carbon-positive, zinc case-negative) produces
a potential difference of about 1.5 V.
conventional current Figure 22.7

A simple cell.
copper
plate
+
zinc
plate electrolyte solution
or paste
Symbol: +

When a simple cell is constructed, the metal plates are separated by a salt solution, a
weak acid solution or a conducting paste. The electric potential difference still exists between
In the 1950s, car manufacturers the positive and negative metal electrodes of the cell. This potential difference is measured
changed from 6 V to 12 V in volts (V) and is usually referred to as the electromotive force (EMF) of the cell or simply
batteries. Why do you suppose its voltage. The term electromotive force is a historical reference to the original idea that a
they did this? Are motorcycle
simple cell might force charges to flow in an external conductor. Experimentation with
batteries 12 V as well?
different combinations of metals in simple cell arrangements has identified a list, in order
Is the positive or negative of
the battery connected to the
of the effectiveness in producing an EMF. This list is given in Table 22.1 and is known
cars body? as the electrochemical series. Generally, the further apart two metals are located on the
electrochemical series, the greater is the voltage (EMF) produced. Note the positions of
familiar metals used in modern battery technology, such as lithium, manganese and nickel
cadmium.
Ta b l e 2 2 . 1 E L E C T R O C H E M I C A L S E R I E S O F M E TA L S
METAL BEHAVIOUR Photo 22.1
The battery in a car.
Lithium metals
Caesium donate
Barium electrons
Calcium
Magnesium
Aluminium
Manganese
Zinc
difference
Potential
Iron
Cadmium
Cobalt
e
Nickel
Tin
Lead
Copper metals
Silver accept
Gold electrons
Once several cells are connected together and a battery is produced, the device can be
used to provide electric current or a flow of charges in an external circuit connecting the pos-
itive and negative terminals, as shown in Figure 22.8. The battery itself is the energy pump
that raises the charge to a higher electric potential at the positive terminal. Positive conven-
tional current will flow from the positive terminal of the battery through the external circuit
conductors and back to the negative battery terminal. Along this pathway the charge loses
potential energy as it does work in various circuit elements. Potential energy is converted to
other forms such as thermal, kinetic or light energy. Remember that in this process of energy
conversion, the charge is not destroyed or used up, but its electric potential energy is reduced
back to zero as it reaches the negative battery terminal. The battery will restore the electric
potential energy of the charges back again to a high value. Figure 22.8 also illustrates this
changing electric potential energy state of the charge carriers in the circuit. Remember,
actual electron flow in the circuit is opposite to conventional current. In an electric circuit,
electric potential is a measure of the electric potential energy per unit charge. More often
than not, the most important feature in an electric circuit is the electric potential difference,
which is commonly referred to as either a potential rise or a potential drop. The battery is
a device that produces potential rises, whereas load elements such as light bulbs, resistive
elements or motors can cause potential drop.
D
Figure 22.8
A simple circuit and potentials.
6 V battery load element

+
A B C
rise drop
Potential
D A B C
Position in circuit
Potential difference = work done to move charge

amount of charge moved
W
V=
q
where V is measured in volts (V); W is measured in joules (J); q is measured in coulombs (C).
A potential rise of 1 volt means that a source of electric energy will give 1 joule of
energy to each coulomb of charge that passes through it. A potential drop of 1 volt means
that a load element such as a light bulb or resistor will remove 1 joule of energy from each
coulomb of charge that passes through it. Recall from the electric current discussion in
q
Section 22.2 that the current I = t , hence it is easy to show algebraically that W = VIt,
which has the units of energy change.
Notice that the battery symbol, illustrated in Figure 22.8, actually consists of three sep-
arate cells connected together so that positive electrodes are directly connected to negative
electrodes. This type of connection is called a series connection of the cells and the total
EMF is the sum of the EMFs of each cell.
Series connection total EMF = sum of individual cell EMFs

Figure 22.9
Individual cells may also be connected together so that all positive electrodes are Cells in series and parallel.
connected together and all negative electrodes are also connected together. This is called a
Series cells
parallel connection and the total EMF is then the same as each individual cell. In this
connection a battery cannot supply more energy to each electron, but can in fact supply a
+
greater quantity of electrons per unit time or a greater current flow in any external circuit.
(See Figure 22.9.) Note that only equal values of EMF should be paralleled.
4 1.5 V = 6.0 V total
Parallel connection total EMF = individual cell EMF
Parallel cells
Example +
A battery is known to contain four individual cells connected in series and is able to supply
3.6 J of energy to every 0.6 C of charge passing through it. What is the potential rise (EMF)
produced by each cell? +
Solution
W 3.6 J +
Work done is equal to energy gained, hence V = q = 0.6 C = 6 V. If the total EMF
3 1.5 V = 1.5 V total
of the battery is 6 V, then each cell will produce EMF = 1.5 V.

Activity 22.2
A Big cells
Use a library, Internet searching or even the Guinness Book of Records to establish
what is the largest existing leadacid cell in the world, and what its electrical power
output is.
B The human nervous system
Read the following text information and answer the questions that follow.
The human nervous system contains important nerve-conducting pathways called
neurons. Each neuron consists of a cell body containing a nucleus, and outgrowths
called processes. The main one of these processes is the axon, which is responsible
for carrying outgoing messages from the cell. This axon can originate in the central
nervous system (CNS) and extend all the way to the bodys extremities, effectively
providing a highway along which messages travel to and from the CNS.
Dendrites are smaller, secondary processes that grow from the cell body and axon.
On the end of these dendrites lie the axon terminals, which plug in to a cell where
the electrical signal from a nerve cell to the target cell can be made. This plug
(the axon terminal) connects into a receptor on the target cell and can transmit
information between cells. The all-or-none law applies to nerve cell communication;
they use an ON/OFF signal (like a digital signal) so that the message can remain
clear and effective throughout its travel from the CNS to the target cell or vice versa.
This is a factor because, just like electricity signals, the signal fades out and must
be boosted along its journey; if the message is either 1 or 0 (i.e. ON or OFF) the
messages are absolute.
Nervous cells are classified into inter-neurons (neurons lying entirely within the
CNS); afferent neurons (also known as sensory neurons specialised to send
impulses towards the CNS and away from the peripheral system); and efferent
neurons (carrying signals from the CNS to the cells in the peripheral system).
When it was discovered over a century ago that nerve-impulses involved electric
charges, it was assumed that a nerve impulse was simply an electric current flowing
through a nerve, just as electric currents flow through conducting wires.
Measurements of actual electric currents in nerves proved that the conduction
process could not solely be due to conduction along the nerve fibre as its resistance
was far too high and the speed of conduction was far too slow. It was proposed by
Julius Bernstein in Germany in 1902 that nerve conduction primarily involved an
electrochemical process. Bernstein suggested that the permeability of the nerve cell
membrane varies for different ions in solution, especially sodium and potassium ions,
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E and that the selectivity of the nerve membrane maintains the separation of ions and
Make up five questions that thus the electric potential. With subsequent modifications to the original Bernstein
would test a persons theory, the transmission of nerve impulses through neurons following stimulation is
understanding of electric thought to occur as follows.
current. Think about whether
your questions are just about The membrane of a resting neuron is polarised; that is, the inside is negative relative
recall of facts or are really to the outside. The concentration of sodium ions is greater outside, while the
testing the persons concentration of potassium ions is greater inside the neuron. Any stimulation causes
understanding. the membrane to undergo a change allowing sodium ions to rush into the cell, which
causes the inside to become positively charged relative to the outside. Very quickly,
the membrane becomes permeable to potassium ions and they now rush out of the
cell, which restores the inside of the cell again to a negative state. It is this rapid
reverse polarisation of the membrane at successive points along the cell that
constitutes a transmitted nerve impulse. Following the passing of the electrical To obtain a standard ECG (as
shown in the figure below), a
impulse the ionic balance of the cell is restored back to its usual resting state by a
patient is connected to the
biological ion exchange pump. It can be seen that the separation of charge and the machine with three electrical
subsequent electric potentials are vitally important in biological systems and not leads (one to each wrist and
just in non-living systems. Within these biological systems the electric potential another to the left ankle) that
continuously monitor heart
differences are of the order of 5090 mV and are known as action potentials.
electrical activity using an
When multiple cells depolarise, either simultaneously or sequentially, they generate instrumentation amplifier.
an electrical waveform which can be detected by external electrical circuits. For
R
example, the depolarisation of cardiac cells produces the ECG (electrocardiogram).
These millivolt signals can be detected electronically by either bipotential or
P Q S T U
instrumentation amplifiers.
Questions
Each peak in the ECG is identified
1 Why is the human nervous system like an electrical circuit? Do you think Ohms with a letter from P to U that
law might apply to the circuitry? Refer to Section 22.4 to help you answer this. corresponds to a specific
2 Draw a diagram of what a typical human neuron might look like from the electrical activity of the heart:
description above. Compare this with one you will find in any good Biology The P-wave represents the
electrical excitation (or
textbook. Oxford texts are best!
depolarisation) of the atria, which
3 If nervous transmission is an all-or-none system, what are the voltage leads to the contraction of both
amplitudes of the electrical switch signals that are travelling the body? atria. The QRS complex represents
the depolarisation of the
ventricles, which initiates the
ventricular contraction. The
22.4 R E S I S TA N C E A N D R E S I S T I V I T Y contraction starts shortly after Q
and marks the beginning of the
systole. Voltage peaks are of the
When a potential difference is applied across a metallic conductor, the electrons do not move order of 1.0 millivolts. The T-wave
very rapidly along the conductor. The electrons are accelerated by the applied electric force represents the return of the
field due to their small mass; however, they very quickly collide with the positive metallic lat- ventricles from excited to normal
state (repolarisation). The end
tice ions in the conductor and lose energy. This rapid acceleration and subsequent collision
of the T-wave marks the end of
leads to the average electron drift velocity, as discussed in Section 22.2. The magnitude of the systole. The U-wave is usually
current through a conductor is proportional to the drift velocity of electrons through it. The very small and represents the
effect of the collisions within the lattice is to reduce the current. This is the same as occurs repolarisation of a collection of
in a stream that contains a lot of rocks, trees and other debris that reduce the rate of flow of specialised muscle fibres that
make up the pacemaker system,
water along it. Every time an electron collides with one of the metallic lattice ions, it loses
which is responsible for
energy, which is transferred to the lattice as heat and vibrational energy. This means that the spreading the electrical signal
temperature of the conductor increases. This opposition to the flow of electric current that throughout the ventricle.
any conductor produces is called its electrical resistance. The smaller the value of current Obviously, by counting the
that flows as a result of any given applied voltage, the larger the resistance. number of QRS complexes that
occur in a given time period, one
Several factors determine the resistance of a conductor. Firstly, the longer the length L of
can determine the heart rate of
a conductor, the greater the number of collisions occurring, while the likelihood of a collision an individual, but an ECG can
is decreased if the conductors cross-sectional area A is increased. Different conductors will give a lot more information. For
have varying lattice types. For example, if the atomic lattice is tightly packed, more collisions example, since the ECGs obtained
are likely. The type of material from which any conductor is made controls the property from different individuals have
roughly the same shape for a
called the resistivity, rho (). Thus the overall electric resistance R is given by
given lead configuration, any
deviation from this shape
L indicates a possible abnormality
R= or disease.
A
For you to investigate
Draw the waveform for a person
where = resistivity measured in m; L = length measured in m; A = cross-sectional area with: tachycardia, atrial
measured in m2. fibrillation and ventricular
fibrillation. Explain what each of
these conditions means.

The measurement unit for resistance is the ohm, named after Georg Simon Ohm
(17871854), a German physicist. Its symbol is the Greek letter omega (). Electric meters
known as ohmmeters, as well as multimeters, can be used to measure any resistance value for
a particular conductor; however, a simple experimental circuit can also be used, as shown in
Figure 22.10.
Figure 22.10 battery ammeter

Measuring resistance.
+
A
current flow, I
resistance
R ()
voltmeter (V )
This circuit measurement depends on the relationship between applied voltage and sub-
sequent electric current through the resistance, which is known as Ohms law and which is
discussed more fully in Section 22.5, but is stated as:
The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential

difference applied across its ends, provided temperature and all physical
conditions remain constant.
The ratio of V to I is defined as the electrical resistance, R. Thus, mathematically, I is

proportional to V:
V = R or V = IR or R = V
I I
A conductor would have a resistance of 1 ohm (1 ) if a potential difference of 1 volt (1 V)

across its ends produces a current of 1 amp (1 A) flowing through it.
Ta b l e 2 2 . 2 E L E C T R I C R E S I S T I V I T Y A N D T E M P E R AT U R E
MATERIAL RESISTIVITY, ( m) TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT, (C 1 )
Silver 1.5 108 4.1 103
Copper 1.7 108 4.1 103
Aluminium 2.6 108 3.9 103
Iron 8.9 108 6.2 103
Platinum 9.8 108 3.7 103
Mercury 94 108 0.88 103
Nichrome 100 108 0.4 103
Carbon 5 105 5 104
Silicon 600 700 104
Fused quartz 1017
Like many physical properties, resistivity not only depends on the material involved but N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
also on the temperature. Table 22.2 lists the electric resistivity, , properties of various mate-
rials as well as their temperature coefficient of resistivity, , values. The resistivity of pure A A wire is stretched to twice
metals increases linearly with temperature because a temperature increase causes the lattice its length. What happens to
its resistance? Justify your
ions to vibrate with greater amplitude. This increases the likelihood of electron collisions and
answer mathematically.
decreases the current through the conductor. The expression for the increase in resistivity
B Can a copper wire and an
with temperature for any conductor is: aluminium wire of the same
length (say 1.0 m) have the
T = 0 (1 + T ) same resistance? There are
at least two answers and
and since resistivity is proportional to the resistance, R, then we can also write: you should justify these
mathematically.
R T = R 0 (1 + T )
where RT = conductor resistance at a temperature of TC; R0 = conductor resistance at a

temperature of 0C; = temperature coefficient of resistivity C1; T = temperature change
in C.
A practical application of the resistance change with temperature is a resistance
thermometer.
Activity 22.3 NOT YOUR NORMAL THERMOMETER!

Platinum is a metal with a very high melting point and reasonably high resistivity value.
Using the library, or encyclopaedia, research the construction and method of operation
of a platinum resistance thermometer. Describe how its variable resistance characteristic
could be measured in a practical situation where it might be used to determine the
operating temperature of a furnace.
Example
What is the electrical resistance at 0C of a piece of copper wire whose length is 1.2 m and
whose cross-sectional area is 17.2 mm2? How would the electrical resistance change if the
copper wire temperature was raised to 25C?
Solution
From Table 22.2, the resistivity for copper is 1.7 108 m at 0C. Using:
R 0 = L = 1.7 10 61.2
8
A 17.2 10
R 0 = 1.18 10 3
and using the value of the coefficient from Table 22.2 for copper:
R T = R 0 (1 + T )
R T = 1.18 10 3 (1 + 4.1 10 3 25) Photo 22.2
R T = 1.3 10 3 at 25C Various resistors.
Notice in Table 22.2 that some substances like silicon and carbon actually posses a neg-
ative temperature coefficient and thus will decrease their resistance as the temperature
increases. This feature can lead to difficult handling methods when trying to control their
temperature in working electronic circuits.
Practical resistors vary in design and size and are very common in electronic devices. They
will be further discussed in terms of this application in Chapter 23; however, resistive
elements are used wherever electrical energy needs to be converted into heat energy, such as
in domestic electrical appliances like room heaters, stove elements and hot water systems.
The resistive element in these applications is usually made of an alloy containing nickel and

chromium metal called nichrome wire. Notice its very high resistivity value in Table 22.2.
Quite often, long lengths of resistive wire are wound on special insulating formers and, in
conjunction with a sliding contact, produce a device whose resistance can be varied. It is
known as a rheostat. This type of device is used to control voltages in electric circuits and
to act in conjunction with electric motors and dimmer switches. The common volume control
knobs on radio, television and stereo equipment are always simple variable resistor (rheostat
or potentiometer) components. Tungsten wire forms the filament of modern incandescent
light bulbs. The high resistivity of tungsten, especially when allowed to heat up within the
controlled environment of a halogen gas inside the glass bulb, causes very bright light to be
emitted with good efficiency.
Human skin is a very good insulating material, luckily, but the tissues and fluids just
beneath the skin contain a large number of ions and hence conduct electricity very efficiently
with low resistance. The variable skin resistance can be measured with sensitive equipment
and is often the basis of the American Justice System polygraph or lie-detector test.
Another application is in diagnostic medicine. By producing a small electric current
between two points on the body surface it is possible to measure the electric resistance.
Usually one electrode is attached to a patients leg and another is moved over the body
surface with a voltage applied between the electrodes. The electrical path resistance varies
especially near abnormalities such as nerve damage or tumour tissue locations. This technique
is quite useful in the detection of cancer, for instance.
Internal resistance
Finally in this section, let us look at the ideas of internal resistance of a battery and con-
nections of resistances in series and parallel. In a battery, chemical energy is continuously
being converted into electric energy when the battery is in use. During this process, internal
heat is produced and the amount of heating is dependent on the current being drawn from
the battery. Thus the battery behaves as if it had an internal resistance, r.
Figure 22.11 EMF internal resistance
Battery internal resistance.
A + r B
(I) current ( I )
external
R
VAB = Emf I r
Figure 22.11 shows the circuit diagram for a battery supplying current to an external resist-
ance, R, and includes the batterys internal resistance. Because the current, I, passes through
the battery as well, a potential drop of Ir is caused, which subtracts from the battery EMF.
Thus the terminal voltage of the battery, as measured by a voltmeter, would be:
V AB = EMF I r
Notice that, if the battery is not supplying any external circuit current, the terminal voltage
equals the EMF. When the car is started, a very large current, in the order of 100 A, must be
supplied by the battery for a short period of time. If the car is started with the lights on, the
lights will usually dim considerably as the terminal voltage is reduced by Ir across the battery
itself, producing a much lower voltage across the headlights. All new batteries have an
internal resistance that is quite small, say, 0.05 ohm for a typical D cell. As the battery gets
older, its internal resistance builds up to such an extent that it is no longer able to deliver
any useful current, due to the fact that its terminal voltage reduces to zero. We commonly
call this a flat battery.
(a) Figure 22.12

R1 R2 R3
A B
current, I
(b) R1
current, I R2
A B
R3
Consider Figure 22.12(a) which shows three resistors connected in series so that any cur-
rent flowing from A to B must pass through each in turn. This effect simply adds the individ-
ual resistances to create a total of all three. It is the same as increasing the effective length
of a single resistor. Thus:
R tot = R 1 + R 2 + R 3
Consider Figure 22.12(b), which shows three resistors connected in parallel, like the rungs of
a ladder. Current flowing from A to B in this situation has three paths to take. In a sense, the
total cross-sectional area of the conductor for current I is being increased and thus the total
resistance is reduced. This leads to the addition of the reciprocals of each resistance to give
a relationship expressed as:
1 1 1 1
= + +
Rtot R1 R2 R3
Both of these connection rules will be proved in greater detail using the electrical circuit laws
of Ohm and Kirchhoff in the next section.
Activity 22.4 CHRISTMAS AND CONDUCTIVITY

1 Inexpensive Christmas tree lights have the individual bulbs connected in series.
Predict what would happen if one of the light bulbs blew. Try this out by
carefully removing a bulb from a working set. Also try this with more expensive
light sets where the individual resistive bulbs are connected in parallel. What is
your prediction now?
2 Use the Guinness Book of Records to find the highest temperature at which
practical applications of the principle of superconductivity (zero effective
resistance) will occur.
Example
Calculate the total resistance of a pair of 25 resistors connected in parallel to a battery
whose EMF is 12 V. Deduce the current, measured by a DC ammeter, that will flow from the
battery.

Solution
Calculate the total effective resistance:
1 1 1 2
= + =
Rtot 25 25 25
Rtot = 12.5
Use V = I Rtot to find current as measured by the ammeter:
12 = I 12.5
12 = 0.96 A
I =
12.5
Questions
1 Describe the difference in behaviour between static electricity, direct current (DC)
electricity and alternating current (AC) electricity in terms of flowing charges.
2 What is the voltage necessary to move 15 coulombs of charge through a
conductor, if the energy required is 80 joules?
3 A piece of metal conductor is estimated to contain 3 1022 electrons per metre
of its length. If it carries a current of 1.5 A, determine the average drift velocity
of the electrons in the conductor.
4 Calculate the increase in potential produced by a cell if every 2.6 coulombs of
charge passing through is supplied with 3.9 joules of energy.
5 A voltage of 120 V is applied to a bulb whose resistance is 200 .
(a) What is the current through the bulb?
(b) How much charge flows through the bulb every hour?
6 A pigeon stands on a 100 kV high-tension wire that carries 50 A. If the line
resistance is 2.0 104 m1, calculate the voltage across the bird if its feet are
3.0 cm apart. What can you deduce about the likelihood of the pigeon being
electrocuted?
7 You are asked to design the electrical parts of an electric toaster. Describe the
nature of the electrical conductors you might use.
8 The resistance of a certain metal conductor, A, is found to be 0.36 at 25C.
If you found another conductor, B, made of the same material but different in
characteristics as shown below, calculate in each case the new resistance value
of B compared with A.
(a) Conductor B is three times longer than A.
(b) Conductor B is only half the cross-sectional area of A.
(c) Conductor B has just been taken from an oven operating at 350C.
Figure 22.13
For question 10. 9 Refer to Figure 22.10. A student set up the experimental apparatus and found
the following results as tabulated. Plot a current versus voltage graph and
12 V, r = 0.4 determine the value of the resistance at all points. Describe what you find.
Is the resistor ohmic in its characteristics? Explain.
Current (A) 0.0 0.013 0.25 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.08

V
Voltage (V) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
A 15
10 Consider Figure 22.13, showing an EMF source and its internal resistance
connected to two series resistors of value 15 . Calculate the readings on the
15 circuit meters shown.
22.5 ELECTRIC MEASUREMENT AND CIRCUITS

In this section we will look at:
Figure 22.14
important electric measurement meters Ohms law.
the laws of DC electric circuits and how to draw them using correct symbols
variable
methods of analysing the circuits to calculate values of current, voltage and resistance. +
A
Let us first deal with the basic laws of electric circuits. Recall that in the previous section, an
experimental circuit was discussed that allowed the measurement of resistance. (Refer to
I
Figure 22.10.) If this circuit has a variable source of EMF, a data table of current flow, I versus
applied voltage, V obtained, and a graph of the results drawn, then an important set of R ()
conclusions can be drawn (Figure 22.14).
We find that a linear relationship exists between current, I, and voltage, V, for most
types of resistors or resistive elements. V
The graph of current versus voltage is a straight line that passes through the origin.
The slope of this line is a constant value.
If a different value of resistance is used, the same type of relationship is found but
the graph has a new slope.
Current, I (amps)
These conclusions were first reached by Georg Simon Ohm (17871854), a German physicist,
and they are summarised as a general property of materials, called Ohms law:
The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential
difference applied across the ends of the conductor, provided temperature
and other physical factors are kept constant.
The measured ratio of voltage to current is defined as the conductor resistance, R.
V Voltage, V (volts)
From the definition of resistance, we obtain the equivalent forms V = IR and I = . The
R R = V (in ohms)
equation V = IR is often used in circuit calculations to evaluate resistance and link voltage to I
current. It may represent Ohms law.
All conductors that obey Ohms law are called ohmic conductors whereas conductors that Figure 22.15
Kirchoffs circuit laws. Junction
do not are called non-ohmic conductors. The best examples of non-ohmic conductors are law (a); loop law (b).
modern semiconductor devices such as transistors, diodes and thermistors and these will be
discussed in Chapters 23 and 24. A graph of current versus voltage for any non-ohmic (a) I2
conductor will not be a straight line, but the gradient of the tangent at any point can be used
I1
to determine the instantaneous dynamic resistance at any specific voltage or current. This is junction
useful in more advanced AC calculations and circuit analysis.
The next two circuit laws were formulated by Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (182487), also
a German physicist, while studying electrical networks. The first of these laws is based on the I3
law of conservation of electric charge and applies to junction points in a circuit; that
is, points where three or more wires join together. It is usually referred to as Kirchhoffs
junction law and is represented in Figure 22.15(a). I1 = I2 + I3
This law is expressed as:
The sum of all currents entering any circuit junction is equal to the sum of all
currents leaving that junction point. (b)
R2
or symbolically:
V2
I1 = I2 + I3
R1 V1
V3 R3
The second is called Kirchhoffs loop law and is based on the law of conservation of
energy as applied to complete closed circuit paths or loops. (See Figure 22.15(b).) This law
I
is expressed as:
EMF, V
The algebraic sum of all voltage changes encountered in any complete closed
V = V1 + V 2 + V 3
circuit loop is equal to zero.

or symbolically:
V = V1 + V2 + V3
Remember that in most simple circuits with constant current flowing, electric charge
gains electric potential energy in the battery and loses it within each external load element
such as resistors. Hence, this voltage loop law is the same as saying that the voltage rise of
the battery is equal to the sum of the potential drops across each load resistor.
At this point it is important to realise that in the analysis of most DC circuits these three
laws are always used in combination, as in the next example.
Example
Figure 22.16 V = 12 V
A simple network circuit. A1
R1 = 20
R2 = 10
A2
Y
X R3 = 10
Consider the circuit drawn in Figure 22.16 containing a simple network of three resistors con-
nected to a DC battery of 12 V. Use circuit laws to calculate the readings on the electric
meters in the circuit.
Solution
Reading the circuit, we need to find:
(a) the equivalent resistance of the parallel pair XY;
(b) the total equivalent resistance in the circuit;
(c) the total current flowing from the battery, A1;
(d) the voltage drop across the equivalent resistance XY;
(e) the current flowing through resistor R2 measured by meter A2.
Thus, for the parallel pair:
1 1 1
= +
RXY R2 R3
1 1 1
= +
RXY 10 10
RXY = 5 ohms
Note: the circuit could now be redrawn with only this single equivalent resistor.
Thus, total circuit resistance:
R tot = R 1 + R XY = 20 + 5 = 25 ohms
Hence total current flowing from battery:
V = 12 =
I tot = 0.48 A = 480 mA
R tot 25
Because of Kirchhoffs loop law:
V= V XY + I tot R 1
V XY = V (I tot R 1)
V XY = 12 (480 10 3 20)
V XY = 2.4 volts
Notice that the sum of voltages around the circuit is 2.4 V + 9.6 V = 12 V.
Thus the current flowing through the resistor R2 is given by:
V XY = I 2 R 2
2.4 = I 2 10
I 2 = 0.24 A = 240 mA
This is the reading on ammeter A2.
Electric meters
With the development of the early electricity industry in the 1880s, engineers needed a
simple, reliable and, above all, very fast way of measuring electric currents and voltages. The
methods of the physics laboratory requiring delicate apparatus, controlled environments,
careful calibrations and lengthy calculations were not suitable for the rough conditions of the
industrial engineer. William Ayrton and John Perry, engineers from the Finsbury Technical
College in London, devised new robust and portable instruments, which they called the
ammeter and the voltmeter. It is interesting to note that the British physicists of the day
were not at all impressed with these new engineering instruments. It was their opinion
that the only quantities that could be measured directly were mass, length and time. They
regarded all other quantities as having to be derived from these absolutes by the ingenuity
and skill of the experimenter and certainly not able to be read from a scaled instrument. To
the physicists of the Victorian era these new instruments were a threat to the moral develop-
ment of students. How times have changed; today, electric meters are an integral part of any
physics laboratory.
When electric measurements are made on a circuit it is obviously important that the elec-
tric meters used should only alter the circuits behaviour in a very minor way. Any electric
meter is going to have some internal resistance and this will need to be taken into account
in the way in which the meter is used. The two most useful electric meters, as already seen
in this chapter, are the ammeter and the voltmeter, for measuring current and voltage
respectively. Both of these meters require current to operate, yet they must have negligible
effects on the currents and voltages within the circuit itself. Let us see how. Both ammeters
and voltmeters contain a sensitive assembly known as a galvanometer. This assembly
contains a fine wire coil that has a pointer needle attached to it and is free to rotate within
a magnetic field. The galvanometer uses the electromagnetic motor principle in which a
current-carrying coil will rotate in a magnetic field. This rotation is balanced by a return Photo 22.3
Galvanometer assembly.
spring and the needle deflection will register directly the amount of current flowing through
the galvanometer coil. (See Photo 22.3.) The internal resistance of galvanometers can vary
but is usually quite low (20100 ) and the maximum current that the fine wire coil can carry
is also very low, of the order of microamps or milliamps when producing a full scale deflec-
tion (FSD) across the measurement pointer scale of the instrument.
In order to make a galvanometer operate as an ammeter it must be placed in series into
the main circuit and also contain a current bypassing shunt resistor of sufficient value to
prevent internal damage to the galvanometer (Figure 22.17). The parallel shunt resistor allows
most of the measured current to bypass the galvanometer and not damage it. The shunt is
often a piece of resistance wire.

Figure 22.17 ammeter

A galvanometer used as an ammeter. in series
galvanometer
Photo 22.4
Multimeter instruments. RM
I to be
R1 measured
shunt Rs
I
V
Note: Rs < RM
Example
What value of shunt resistor would be required by a galvanometer, whose internal resistance,
RM, is 25 and whose FSD current, IM, is 1.0 mA, if it is required to form part of an
ammeter that will measure up to 6 A in total?
Solution
Let the current to be measured, Itot, be 6 A.
Because the shunt resistor is in parallel with the galvanometer, then Vshunt = Vmeter.
Therefore, using Ohms law:
IS RS = IM RM
Photo 22.5
CBL2 data-logger and
graphics calculator. But Itot = IM + IS by junction law:
R S = I M R M = 1.0 10 3 25
I tot I M 6.0 1.0 10 3
shunt resistor R S = 4.2 10 3
A voltmeter is a galvanometer placed in parallel to the circuit component across which

the voltage is being measured. Since the galvanometer typically has a low internal resistance,
most of the current flowing in the circuit would flow through it and cause damage. To prevent
this, a voltmeter always contains a very high value series resistor, so that the resistance of
the voltmeter becomes large compared with that of the circuit component being measured
and the current flow in the circuit is hardly altered. (See Figure 22.18.)
Figure 22.18
A galvanometer used as voltmeter
a voltmeter. in parallel
galvanometer Rs
RM
R1
V
Rs > RM
Example Photo 22.6

What value of internal series resistor would be required by a galvanometer whose internal Meter scales.
(a)
resistance, RM, is 25 and whose FSD current, IM, is 1 mA, if it is to form part of a voltmeter
that is required to measure up to 12 V in total?
Solution
As the series resistor and RM are in series and together must only allow a total current flow of
1 mA through the voltmeter, then:
V = I M (R S + R M)
If V = 12 V, then
12 = 1.0 10 3 (R S + 25)
12
RS = 25 (b)
1.0 10 3
Series resistor R S = 12 000 = 12 k would be used.
Often electricians or electronics technicians make use of a combined meter called a

multimeter. (See photo.) This instrument is a multi-scaled device that is usually capable of
measuring resistance, voltage and current in both DC and AC modes. In recent times, the out-
put display is a digital display rather than the analog needle movement type of voltmeter and
ammeter described in this section. The use of a multimeter has more importance in
electronics and will be further discussed in Chapter 23. Electricians who need to test the
effective resistance of insulation around conductors to check safety requirements use an
(c)
instrument called a megohm tester, which is able to measure the resistance at a particular
high voltage.
Activity 22.5
A Read the meter scales
Use the set of photographs (Photo 22.6) showing various electrical instrument scales.
Read the measured quantities accurately. List what each instrument is, and its scale
reading in correct units.
B Battery discharge project
(d)
You are required to test and complete an experimental report on the discharge
characteristics of several different types of batteries. To do this you will need to
design and set up a discharge circuit that allows the data-logging of the terminal
voltage under load of the various battery types. You could, for example, compare
such types as normal zinccarbon batteries with Energizer alkaline MAX, Energizer
e2-Titanium, Nickelcadmium rechargeable and lithium metal hydride batteries.
The final choice is up to you. (e)
The test rig should be able to allow the connection and slow discharge of the batteries
through a normal light bulb circuit and you should program the CBL2 data-logger to
take voltage sensor readings as the battery discharges through the light bulb circuit.
Your experimental design should include all circuit diagrams and constructional
methods. You should display all final results in graphical form for easy comparison
by using the features of the data-logger. (f)
If you have both voltage and current sensors for the CBL2 or an equivalent
data-logger, then you may be able to directly compare voltage and current discharge
characteristics for your battery set. You could also compare your findings with
technical data that is available on the Internet sites of companies such as Eveready,
Energizer, Panasonic or TDK.

Circuit symbols
We have been using several common electric circuit symbols already. Electric circuit diagrams
are the standard method of representing actual circuits in practice. Some standard electric
symbols used are shown in Figure 22.19. More will be met in the next chapter. It should be
noted that a rectangular style is used when drawing electric circuit diagrams. This is for ease
of reading the connections between various components but, in practice, the actual working
circuit may not follow this rectangular style, especially if forming part of a printed circuit
board in a consumer electronic device such as a television set or computer. Finally in
this section, we will analyse a more complex electric circuit, making use of all circuit laws,
electric meters and methods of connection discussed so far. This process is very important as
you must be able to read unfamiliar electric circuits and carry out the necessary calculations
to solve for unknown or required circuit component values. You must also be able to use
the laws of circuit behaviour to predict voltages and currents at any point in a circuit. The
following example illustrates the general steps that might be followed, but remember that
there is usually more than one way to the solution.
Figure 22.19
Circuit component symbols. + +
cell cells fixed resistor
DC supply (variable) AC supply variable resistor
V
voltmeter
conductors crossed conductors connected
A
single pole switch button switch ammeter
open open
G
incandescent lamp galvanometer
5A 5A
fuse (5 amp) transformer
Earth capacitor
Example
5 Figure 22.20
A1
Ic 5
Ic 10
A2
Ic
V1 V2
Ic EMF Ic
Consider the circuit shown in Figure 22.20. Calculate the circuit current, Ic, flowing from the
battery, as well as the current reading on ammeters A1 and A2 and the voltage reading on V1
and V2. What is the battery EMF if it contains three cells each of 1.5 V?
Solution
Note the following points about this circuit:
Battery has three cells each of 1.5 V, therefore EMF = 4.5 V.
10 and 5 resistors are in parallel and this combination is in series with the 5
resistor.
The current readings A1 + A2 will equal Ic because of Kirchhoffs junction rule.
The voltages across the 5 and 10 resistors will both be equal to voltage V1.
The sum of voltages V1 + V2 will equal the EMF, 4.5 V, due to Kirchhoffs loop law.
Step 1 Calculate equivalent resistance of parallel combination:
1 1 1 1 3
Use = + = R P = 3.3
RP 5 10 RP 10
Step 2 Calculate equivalent circuit total resistance in series with battery:
R tot = R P + 5 = 3.3 + 5 = 8.3
Step 3 Calculate total current flow, Ic, using Ohms law:
V EMF 4.5
Ic = = = = 0.54 A
Rtot Rtot 8.3
Step 4 Now consider only the 5 resistor. Apply Ohms law to find the voltage V2:
V 2 = I c R = 0.54 5 = 2.7 V
Step 5 Calculate the voltage V1, using the loop law:
V 1 + V 2 = EMF V 1 + 2.7 = 4.5 V 1 = 1.8 volts
Step 6 Voltage V1 = 1.8 V is the voltage drop across each resistor 5 and 10 in the
parallel arm. Hence, calculate currents A1 and A2:
V1 = I1 5 1.8 = I 1 5 I 1 = 0.36 A
V 1 = I 2 10 1.8 = I 2 10 I 2 = 0.18 A

Notice finally that the sum of the currents I1 and I2 equals the circuit current Ic = 0.54 A
as required by Kirchhoffs law. It is also possible to redraw equivalent but simplified circuit
Figure 22.21 diagrams at each step to further aid understanding of the analysis.
For question 12.
15 V
Questions
11 A student set up an electric circuit with two 25 resistors in parallel, connected
5 R5
10 to a battery of EMF 12 V. She wishes to calculate total circuit current and the
individual currents through each resistor. Draw a circuit diagram she would use
10 R1
and calculate values.
10 12 Consider the electric circuit shown in Figure 22.21. Calculate the current flowing
R4
through each resistor and the voltage drop across each resistor using the laws of
10 R2
circuit analysis. Fully describe your steps and redraw the appropriate equivalent
R3 circuits at each step.
E L E C T R I C A L E N E R G Y A N D P OW E R 22.6
The most important aspect of electrical energy use in modern society is the ease with which
this form of energy can be converted into a whole range of other energy forms, such as heat,
light, mechanical energy, electromagnetic energy radio, television. Electrical energy is
generated in several ways, at a simple DC level with devices such as cells and batteries,
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E through to AC generators of different types. Domestic and industrial AC electricity supply is
generated often by coal, oil or gas burning power stations or even by thermal, wind power or
A writer in New Scientist
magazine (July 1998) described
hydroelectric power stations. The basis of all forms of AC electric generators is the spinning
how in 1938 he stayed in a coil induction turbine. Once the electrical energy is produced, AC transformers can change the
country house in England and voltage so that it may be efficiently distributed via conducting cables around the countryside
helped wind up a 1 tonne steel to factories and homes. These devices, techniques and issues will be discussed in detail in
ball suspended on a chain into Chapter 26.
the roof space. During the
evening, the ball was allowed to
fall slowly, turning a generator A c t i v i t y 2 2 . 6 B I G G E N E R ATO R S
to keep a light glowing all
night. He said that this was
1 Use library research or send away to your local electricity authority to find out
impossible as there was not about the types of power stations that produce electricity for your school and
enough gravitational potential home. If you have a solar or wind-powered electric generator at your house or
energy in the ball to do this. school, find out how it works and write a short descriptive report.
Verify his claim by working out
2 Research from an encyclopaedia, Internet searching or the Guinness Book of
how long a 60 W lamp would
Records the highest voltage ever produced and where it was accomplished.
glow if the ball was raised
5.0 m. Assume the energy 3 Try to find out from similar sources the location of the largest electric generator
conversion was 100% efficient operating in the world and what its output is.
(unlikely!). In actual fact it
turns out that the steel ball did When an electric current flows through a resistor, thermal heat is produced, as was
not turn a generator but turned discussed in Section 22.3. Electrical energy is being converted to thermal energy within
an enclosed 44 gallon drum the resistor and this forms the basis of any electric appliance designed to produce heat, such
partly submerged in petrol.
as radiators, electric stove elements, hot water systems, electric blankets and electric kettles.
As the drum turned, petrol
In an electric light bulb, this resistive heating of the filament wire even begins to produce
evaporated and was burnt in a
gas lantern.
light energy. Electrical energy is often converted into mechanical energy; for example, in any
appliance that contains an electric motor. Whenever electrical energy conversion is occurring,
electric charge, Q, is being moved through a potential difference, V. This requires an electric
force doing work, W, given by W = Q V.
The rate of energy transfer or the rate at which electrical work is done is called
electrical power. Thus:
P = W = QV = VI
t t
Power is the product of the potential drop or voltage across an appliance times the current
flow through the appliance. This formula is appropriate in both DC and AC voltage and
current situations. The unit for electrical power is the watt (W) with 1 watt being equivalent
to a rate of energy transfer of 1 joule per second: 1 W = 1 J s1.
Using Ohms law, it can be readily seen that alternative forms of the power formula can
be derived, namely: N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
The formula P = V2/R implies
V2 that if the resistance (R) of
P = V I = I2 R = a light bulb is decreased, the
R
power consumption (P) will
increase and hence it will
Many domestic and industrial electric appliances state the power rating on their compliance glow brighter. But the formula
plates. For example, a television set that is rated at 110 W will consume electrical energy at P = I2 R implies that if R is
the rate of 110 joules per second. It is this energy usage that consumers have to pay for as decreased, P is also decreased
it is supplied by the electricity authority. (Refer to Section 22.7.) and the bulb will get dimmer.
They cant both be right.
Example What is your answer to this
(a) Calculate the power dissipated by an electric drill operating from the normal apparent anomaly?
240 V AC supply and drawing an operating current of 1.6 A.
(b) Calculate the monthly energy used by a television set whose power rating is
110 W and is operating daily for 6.5 hours.
Solution
(a) Use P = V I = 1.6 A 240 V = 384 W.
(b) Energy used daily:
W = P t = 110 6.5 3600 = 2.6 10 6 J
But if the set is used for one month of, say, 30 days, then total energy used = 7.7 107 J.
The common unit for electrical energy usage in domestic and industrial situations is
the kilowatt-hour (kW h). The electricity authority commonly refers to the kW h as a unit
of electricity and it represents the amount of electrical energy used by a device rated at one
kilowatt over a period of one hour.
Questions
13 Calculate the power rating of a light bulb operating at 240 V and 0.6 A.
14 What is the resistance at normal operating conditions of the following appliances
run from the 240 V AC mains: (a) 50 W television set; (b) 1 kW hair dryer;
(c) 100 W light bulb?
15 A heater is connected to the normal mains supply. If the resistance element has a
value of 8 ohms, how much electrical energy is supplied to the heater in 5 minutes?
16 It requires 4.2 kJ of energy to raise the temperature of 1.0 kg of water by 1C.
If an electric hot water system is rated at 6.5 kW for 240 V AC and it holds
250 kg of water, calculate (a) its coil resistance while operating; (b) the energy
required, in kW h, to heat the water from 15C to 80C.

HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY AND

22.7
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E Activity 22.7 YOUR METER BOX

One that most people get
Look into the meter box at your house, and (without touching anything!) determine:
wrong: 100 W bulbs glow
brighter than 40 W bulbs when 1 how many meters it contains;
connected in parallel across a
2 how many fuses, switches or circuit-breakers appear to be used;
240 V source.
If these two bulbs were 3 the descriptions associated with each fuse or switch;
connected in series, how would
4 which way the spinning discs inside each of the largest meters turn.
their brightness compare?
Electrical energy produced by power stations is AC or alternating current. The current changes
direction in any household AC circuit at a frequency of 50 Hz and in Australia is provided at
a voltage of 240 V. (Refer back to Figure 22.6(c).) This 240 V is converted at local street pole
transformers from much higher AC voltages on the main high-tension (high-voltage) distrib-
ution grid. Our domestic 240 V AC electricity is potentially very dangerous and significant
precautions must be taken in any household installation in order to protect consumers from
faults that may occur with appliances.
The electrical cabling involved in household electricity usually contains three colour-
coded insulated conductor wires. The first is the brown or red covered active wire. This is
often called the live wire and carries the current to the appliance when it operates. The elec-
tric potential of the active wire varies between positive and negative, and is particularly
dangerous as it would produce a fatal shock if touched because the potential (voltage)
involved would force current to flow through your body to earth. The second wire is covered
in blue or black insulation and is called the neutral wire. The neutral wire allows return
current to flow from the appliance in operation. This neutral wire is at earth potential (zero
volts) because it is earthed at the local electricity supply sub-station, and is thus far less
potentially dangerous than the active wire. The third wire is covered in green and yellow, or
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E just green, insulation and is called the earth wire. This is a safety connection made to a thick
In an experiment to measure the metal stake entering the ground at some point around your house.
efficiency of a microwave oven,
1 L (1000 g) of water was
placed in an icecream bucket A c t i v i t y 2 2 . 8 Y O U R E A RT H S Y S T E M
and its temperature measured. It
was then cooked on high for Locate and describe the position and type of the main earthing point in the
2 minutes and its temperature electrical system wiring at your house. Is it located under cover or out in the open?
measured again. Use the Why is it located at this position? In the past a mains water pipe has often been
formulas Q = mcT and P = W/t used as the main earthing point. This is less common today. Explain why this might be
to prove that the power the case.
output of the microwave
(P) = 34.8 T. Hint: let In most household situations both the earth and neutral cables are connected together
Q = W. If a 750 W microwave
at the fuse-box to form what is known as the multiple earth neutral (MEN) system. If an
raised the temperature of 1 L of
water by 20C, calculate the
appliance has a metallic outer surface then it is connected internally to the earth wire. This
efficiency of the oven. is because, if the active wire insulation breaks down or an internal fault occurs, causing the
outer metallic case to become live at 240 V potential, the current will flow through the earth
wire and not through the higher resistance of someone touching it. Earthed appliances are
generally much safer for this reason. Electrical power points in the walls are similarly
connected with a three-pin socket for active, neutral and earth (Figure 22.22). The electrical
switch must be placed in the active line, in order to turn an appliance on or off at the wall
socket.
active (brown Figure 22.22

or red) Electric plug and socket.
A
N
A
N
E E
neutral (blue earth (green-yellow

or black) or green)
The Australian flat-pin plug
240 VOLT COLOUR STANDARDS FLEX (POWER LEADS) WALL CABLE (see Figure 22.22) is similar
to the plug used in mainland
Active brown red
China, but dimensional
Neutral SP FIGblue22.22 black
differences prevent the Chinese
Earth green-yellow green-yellow plugs from being used in
Australia. Argentina uses the
You may have noticed that some appliances have a power lead that contains only figure- same plug as Australia but the
of-eight twin conductor wire. This type of appliance has a double insulated rating, which Active and Neutral are reversed,
means that any internal metal parts are not only insulated with the normal protective wire and the plugs are banned from
insulation but also the outer case of the appliance is plastic and cannot become live in the use in Australia. What is the
problem with having A and N
event of a fault condition or primary internal insulation breaking down. Compare the diagrams
reversed?
in Figure 22.23, which also shows the commonly used symbol for a double insulated
appliance a concentric pair of squares.
(a) Toaster (b) Power drill

active Figure 22.23
A Earthing (a) and a double
switch insulated appliance (b).
motor
N
elements
switch
neutral
plastic
metal case
case
earth
Symbol insulated cable
If a fault occurs in the electrical wiring of a house, or if an appliance becomes faulty, a

short circuit, which allows a high current to flow very easily, may be produced. This subse-
quently causes rapid heating of the conductors. This heating effect would be high enough to
cause melting of insulation and a fire if it were not for fuses placed in the active lines of the
household circuits. A fuse is a small piece of resistive wire alloy that is designed to melt and

Photo 22.7 break with excessive overheating or at a particular current rating such as 8 or 16 amps. Once
Household meter box. the fuse breaks a completed circuit is no longer present and any further current is stopped.
Once the fault condition is diagnosed by an electrician or the faulty appliance repaired, the
broken fuse can be replaced and the circuit is again complete. Fuses are also important
because they prevent a circuit being loaded with too many appliances in parallel and thus
causing excessive currents to be drawn.
A modern replacement for the fuse is the electromagnetic circuit-breaker (see Photo
22.7), which is a small electromagnetic solenoid switch that will also break the circuit if a
fault current develops. The advantage is that it can be quickly manually reset. Figure 22.24
gives some idea of how a typical household room might be wired with two power points and
two lights with switches. Notice that the room lights are not usually earthed and that both
the power points and the lights are in paralleled connections.
One of the most successful techniques for maintaining electrical safety in the household
is to install an earth leakage circuit-breaker (ELCB), also called a residual current device
(RCD) (see Photo 22.7). This device is usually permanently installed in the meter
fuse-box of the house. It will electronically sense the very small differences in the electric
current balance between incoming active line and outgoing neutral line that will occur in
Figure 22.24
Simplified household AC wiring. any wiring or appliance fault condition that allows current flow to earth. These devices are
available in different trip current ratings (the most common tripping at 30 mA) and are very
sensitive and fast-acting (1020 ms), so that electrical safety is maintained. In some
fuse
situations around the house even portable RCD units are becoming popular.
A box
A S
Household appliances should always be chosen and used on the basis of their electrical
N N L1 L2
E operating efficiency. Many larger appliances in homes and industry, such as refrigerators,
P1 P2 washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and range stoves, carry an Australian energy
rating system label, which contains vital testing information relating to a national standard
for electrical efficiency. See Figure 22.25 for an example of this label from a dishwasher.
Figure 22.25 How do I choose the What do the figures

The dishwasher energy rating most energy efficient 3 on the label mean?
2 4
dishwasher? The dishwasher Energy

label explained.
The simplest way to Rating Label shows two
compare the energy
1 5
energy consumption figures
efficiency of dishwashers THE MORE
STARS THE MORE in red boxes. They will tell
ENERGY EFFICIENT
is look for the stars. The you how much energy the
more stars on the Energy dishwasher will use per year,
Rating Label the more E N E R G Y if it is operated once a day.
energy efficient the
dishwasher. More stars
means the dishwasher R A T I N G
uses less electricity to USE THIS LABEL TO COMPARE DIFFERENT MODELS.
achieve the same level of A JOINT STATE GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY PROGRAM. The figure in the large
performance. COMPARATIVE ENERGY CONSUMPTION box is based on the
manufacturers
recommended water
550 connection.
How does a dishwasher kW. h PER YEAR (USED ONCE DAILY) ON COLD WATER SUPPLY
WHEN TESTED TO AUSTRALIAN STANDARD 2007
get an Energy Rating? 12 PLACE SETTINGS ON ENERGYSAVE 55 PROGRAM
To determine the Energy ACTUAL ENERGY USE AND RUNNING COST WILL DEPEND ON
PROGRAM USED WATER CONNECTION AND COST OF HOT WATER
Rating manufacturers must INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM YOUR ENERGY SUPPLIER
have their appliances tested FOR HOT WATER CONNECTION

ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS 680 kW h
PER YEAR
to an Australian Standard.
The program setting used in The figure in the small box is based
the tests is stated on the label on an alternative water connection.
and this program will satisfy the (Usually hot water only or a dual hot/
needs of an average wash. cold connection). Here the operating
costs will vary depending on your
hot water system.
Appliances usually fall into two broad categories: the high power devices that mostly
generate heat and the low power devices that include lighting and consumer electronic items
such as radios, TVs and computers. Table 22.3 lists the electrical ratings of some appliances,
showing the typical operating range.
Ta b l e 2 2 . 3 E L E C T R I C A L P OW E R A N D E N E R G Y C O N S U M P T I O N
APPLIANCE TYPICAL POWER AVERAGE USE ENERGY USE (AVE) N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
(W) (h day 1 ) (W h day 1 )
MIN. MAX. MIN. MAX. MIN. MAX. Have you seen the new compact
fluorescent bulbs designed to
Kitchen:
replace the normal incandescent
Lights 11 100 1.00 3.00 11 300
ones? They cost about $20 but
Refrigerator 100 260 6.00 12.00 600 3 120 last 8000 hours and produce
Microwave 650 1 200 0.17 0.25 111 300 light equivalent to a 75 W
Toaster 600 600 0.03 0.08 18 48 incandescent bulb but only
Laundry: consume 20 W of power.
Incandescent bulbs cost
Lights 11 100 0.25 1.00 3 100
75 c and last about 1200 hours.
Iron 500 1 000 0.17 0.42 85 420
Which is better value?
Washing machine 500 900 0.22 0.33 110 300
Clothes dryer 1 800 2 400 0.20 0.54 360 1 300
Water pumps 300 500 0.25 1.00 75 500
Lounge:
Lights 15 100 1.00 4.00 15 400
Television 25 200 0.50 5.00 13 1 000 Consider the statement:
Electricity from a battery is
Video recorder 100 100 0.5 5.0 50 500
100 times more expensive than
Stereo 60 80 0.5 3.00 30 240
the electricity from your power
Vacuum cleaner 100 1 000 0.13 0.25 13 250
point. Is this true? Design an
Oil radiator heater 1 000 3 000 8.00 14.0 8 000 42 000
experiment to find out how
Strip heater 500 1500 0.5 1.00 250 1 500 much electricity you can get
Bedroom: out of a 1.5 V AA battery and
Lights 11 100 0.5 2.00 6 200 compare it to the 240 V mains
Radio 10 40 0.33 3.00 3 120 supply (10 cents per unit).
Garage:
Lights 11 100 0.17 2.00 2 200
Power tools 200 800 0.17 0.17 34 136
Hot water (storage) 3 000 20 000 5.00 8.00 10 000 24 000
Incandescent light bulbs have
a life proportional to 1/V14
seconds (where V is the applied
Example voltage). Hence, if you run a
If the tariff cost from the local electricity supplier for domestic light and power is 9.18 cents 240 V bulb at 80% of its rated
per kilowatt-hour, use the information in Table 22.3 to calculate the total monthly cost of voltage you will increase its
operating a television set of 120 W at maximum average daily use. lifetime. By how many times will
its life be increased?
Solution We think 23 times; but how did
From the table, average daily use in 5 hours, at power rating P, = 120 W for the set: we get that?
Energy = P t = 5 120 = 600 W h per day
For one month of 30 days = 18 000 W h = 18 kW h, at cost of 9.18c = $1.65 total.

Photo 22.8
Kilowatt hour meter ENERGEX.
Activity 22.9 APPLIANCES
1 Try to find out if the larger appliances in your house have an energy rating
label. From it calculate the average cost of operating them as normal for one
year.
2 Figure 22.26 gives a diagram of a typical set of dials on the meter box electrical
kilowatthour meter. Refer also to Photo 22.8. Can you work out how to read the
dials? Try reading your own household meters and keep a weekly record of the
power consumption in order to compare the readings with your electricity bill.
3 RCD- or ELCB-type devices only protect against certain types of electrical faults.
How do these devices actually work and what specific types of hazards do they
protect us against?
Figure 22.26 How to read a meter

How to read a meter. Some customers like to check their meter readings 1 0 9
from time to time. 9 0 1 2 8 9 0 1
1 0 9 8 2 3 7 8 2 1 0 9
The dial type meter is the most common type 2 8 7 3 4 56 7 3 2 8
installed. Stand directly in front of the meter so 3 7 6 54 100
6 54 3 7
4 56 4 56
that you can see the exact position of the pointer. 1000 10
Start at the right-hand dial and record the 10 000 KILOWATT K.W.H.
number the pointer has just passed on each dial. HOURS PER
1/10
If you wish to check your average daily
consumption, take readings at the same time of
day, several days apart and divide the difference
in readings by the number of days. The reading from the dials above is 16142
Also, remember that meters belong to ENERGEX (or other authorities in other States). Interfering with them
is illegal and staff are trained to spot any evidence of tampering.
Electric shock
Finally in this chapter we will take a look at some of the effects of DC and AC electricity
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E on the human body, including electrocution. The severity of an electric shock, that is, bring-
A 240 V jug rated at 2000 W ing the body into contact with an EMF source, depends on the current flow, duration,
takes 1 min 45 s to heat 2 cups frequency, skin moisture, surface area of contact, pressure exerted, temperature and the path
(500 g) of water from 23C to taken by current through the body. A current passing through vital organs such as the brain
boiling (100C). Calculate its or heart is the most dangerous. The biological effects of electricity result from both the
percentage efficiency. DC electrical resistance of the body and the AC electrical impedance (frequency-dependent
If 1 L of water was being boiled resistance).
from the same temperature,
propose whether the time would
be exactly twice or more, or Table 22.4 EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY OF 240 V, 50 Hz AC FOR 0.5 s
less, than twice. Hmmm
think of the energy losses. CURRENT (mA) EFFECT ON THE BODY
Check our web page for some
0.5 threshold of perception
real data!
1.0 able to be felt; tingling sensation
4.0 pain felt; rarely causes damage
10.0 threshold of let-go; just able to release
20.0 muscles paralysed; unable to release
50.0 severe electric shock; burns; ventricular fibrillation threshold
150.0 breathing difficult; major damage
200.0 death likely
500.0 serious burning; breathing stops; death inevitable
Voltages as low as 32 V AC or 115 V DC can be dangerous. Table 22.4 lists several identi-
fiable levels of electric shock. In general, it is true that an AC voltage is more dangerous than
an equal DC voltage because it will trigger stronger muscular contractions. Fortunately During times of heavy power
the human skin is a fairly good insulator, which provides a barrier against dangerous electric demand, the voltage of the
currents. The effective resistance between two points on opposite sides of the body, when electricity from the power
the skin is dry, is in the range 10 000 to one million ohms; however, if the skin is wet, the station drops by up to 2%.
Is this to save money, to save
resistance may be less than 1000 ohms. For voltages greater than about 50 V, the human skin
power or for some other reason?
begins to break down as an effective barrier and the bodys internal resistance becomes more
important in determining the current flow through the body.
Table 22.5 AVERAGE TOTAL BODY RESISTANCE FOR 95% OF POPULATION

TOUCH VOLTAGE (V) AC RESISTANCE ()
25 6100
50 4400
75 3500
100 3200
110 3000
240 2100
500 1600
1000 1500
Table 22.5 lists the total average body resistance for 95% of the population at various
touch voltages. From these tables it can easily be seen that at 240 V the body current typi-
cally is about 100 mA and, depending on the contact time, can be fatal most of the time. The
most dangerous path for current is from one limb to another, across the chest, as this is most
likely to affect the heart. Exposure to electric shock, especially via this pathway, can bring
about cardiac fibrillation, or rapid and uncontrolled beating of the heart, which can starve
the brain of oxygen, quite quickly causing permanent damage or even death.
If fibrillation of the heart begins, ambulance officers at the scene of an electrical acci-
dent will begin a procedure known as defibrillation, which involves usually two steps. Firstly,
the rapid fibrillation must be stopped. This is done by placing the plates of a defibrillator on
the chest on either side of the heart. A 5 kV DC pulse lasting about 150 ms passes through
the heart causing it to stop temporarily. The defibrillator recovers within 23 s and is ready
then to deliver a second pulse. The second step involves a second pulse identical to the first,
applied again through the heart, if it hasnt restarted its normal sinus rhythm naturally. If this
is unsuccessful, a third, even stronger, pulse is applied. In the event that a defibrillator is not
available, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be administered until hospitalisation.
A C T I V I T Y 2 2 . 1 0 C A R D I A C D E F I B R I L L AT I O N
You are required to examine the following information, provided on the Biomedical
Electronics pages of the website of the Australasian Society of Cardio-Vascular
Perfusionists Inc. Read and interpret the material carefully, also using assistance from
Chapters 21 and 22, and complete the questions that follow.
Principles of operation of DC defibrillator

A Energy used for cardioversion and defibrillation
Electrical output of defibrillators is expressed in terms of energy. Joules (J) or
watt-seconds (W s) describe the power (watts) and the length of time for which it is
applied (s).

Thus energy (joules) = power (watts) duration (seconds)

Note: watt = current (amps) voltage (volts)
1 watt = 1 J s1
Defibrillators are set according to the amount of energy stored; this depends on both the
charge and the potential. Capacitance is the measure of the ability of an object to hold
an electrical charge; SI unit is coulomb (C).
coulombs = amperes (A) x seconds (s)
power (W)
potential (V) = current (A)
power (W) = energy (J) per second

current (A) = charge (C) per second
1 J
V = Js 1 = C
Cs
J = C.V
Stored energy (J) = 1 capacitance (C) potential (V) = 1 C V 2

2 2
Example: with paddles potential of 5000 V applied across two plates of a capacitor,
produces a store of electrons of 160 mC of charge.
B Operation and circuit
Defibrillation energy is temporarily stored in a capacitor. The large capacitor is charged to
the selected energy and then discharged through the paddles applied to the chest. The
energy stored in the capacitor is released as a current pulse (e.g. 35 A for 3 ms) resulting
in a synchronous contraction of the heart after which a refractory period and normal
beats may follow.
An inductor is included in circuit to ensure that the electric pulse has an optimal shape
and duration.
During discharge, the inductor absorbs some of the energy so that not all is discharged to
the patient.
Defibrillators are calibrated in terms of delivered energy, not stored energy.
Figure 22.27 charge switch inductor

For Activity 22.10B.
paddle
patient
charger capacitor resistance
(impedance)
discharge switch
C DC defibrillator pulse shapes (waveforms)

The defibrillation waveform is a major factor in determining efficacy of defibrillation.
A damped sine wave defibrillator consists of a capacitor, inductor and electrodes.
Placing of an inductance coil in series with the capacitor, the resultant waveform is half
sinusoidal in configuration; a slight variation is the underdamped sine wave, in which
the sine wave reverses slightly, and which may reduce the defibrillation threshold.
The duration of the current for adult is 510 ms. Current intensity depends on the set
stored energy on the defibrillator.
Patient impedance, or the resistance to current that is offered by the chest, is called
chest impedance; an average figure is 75 .
Variations in the patients impedance cause the delivered dose of current to vary widely.
Factors that influence impedance between the defibrillator paddles (resistance) are:
delivered energy
paddle (electrode) size and composition
interface between paddle and skin (gel used to reduce this)
paddle pressure (increased pressure decreases impedance)
time interval between discharges
number of discharges (increased number decreases impedance)
phase of patient ventilation
distance between paddles.
Figure 22.28
For Activity 22.10C.
60 60
current (amperes)
current (amperes)
damped sine wave underdamped sine wave

40 40
20 20
0 0
0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6
duration (milliseconds) duration (milliseconds)
(a) (b)
D Energy levels required for internal and external defibrillation

1 External transthoracic defibrillation
(a) Children (weighing 2.550 kg ) = 15 J/kg
(b) Adults (body weight in adults does not seem to be a major factor
determining energy requirements)
Initial setting 200 J followed rapidly by 300 J and 360 J if needed; animal
studies suggest that these doses are also valid during hypothermia.
2 Internal direct open chest defibrillation
Adults: initial setting 5 J with increments up to 20 J.
Questions
1 Calculate the energy (in joules) delivered by the paddles in the example in section
A above.
2 Why does the inductor in the circuit change the shape of the waveform?
3 What are the factors that cause current delivery to the patient to change?
4 Why do you think body weight in adults is not so important as in children?
5 Why is the energy for external defibrillation much higher than for internal
defibrillation?

Australian farmers make use of electric fences. A typical electric fence produces 7500 V
DC pulses, lasting 0.2 ms at intervals of about one second. These voltage spikes are usually
produced from a 12 V battery. Electricity authorities specify a 10 000 V maximum and the unit
must be able to deliver at least 5000 V under a typical load of 500 . A good electric fence
unit connected to a clean fence should be able to maintain 7500 V over 20 km of fencing.
Farmers check the fence voltage with a voltmeter and can usually tell from specified points,
such as open gates, if the system is working properly. Animals that occasionally get caught
in the fence will die of stress, not from the electric shock given. Usually, after the first shock
onto a cold wet nose, the cattle or other stock learn very quickly not to approach the
electrified fence.
Probably the most dramatic effect of electricity on the body is the use of an electric
chair in the American criminal justice system. It was in 1890, in New York, that William
Kemmler became the first criminal in history to be put to death by electrocution. Apart from
a period in the 1970s, several hundred people a year have been executed in the chair,
between 1890 and the present in the USA. Traditionally the prisoner is securely fastened to a
solid chair by straps holding the chest, groin, arms and legs. The electrodes are moistened
copper plates attached to each calf and a band around the head. Jolts of 48 A at between
500 and 2000 V AC are applied for a half-minute at a time. A doctor inspects the body to see
if death has occurred or if another jolt should be administered. At Sing Sing prison in New
York, an initial voltage of 2200 V at 712 A is used at half-minute intervals over a period of
two minutes. Current flow in each leg and the head is monitored. Body temperatures rise to
above 50C. The use of the electric chair has dropped in recent years as lethal injection is
being adopted by more US States. The use of capital punishment in all forms is currently
Figure 22.29 banned in Australia.
For question 23. It is important to realise the biological effects of even small voltages on our bodies.
(a) Electrical safety must always be utmost on our minds when we work at home or in the
A
laboratory. Electrical energy, while vitally important in modern society, deserves our utmost
respect. It is far too dangerous for anyone to be complacent about its potential.
4 6 V
Practice questions
12 V The relative difficulty of these questions is indicated by the number of stars beside each
(b) 10 Review applying principles and problem solving
*17 What is the electric current in the following cases?
10
(a) A 20 C charge passes an ammeter in 5 s.
A2 (b) A 5 C charge passes an ammeter in 20 s.
(c) A 200 C charge passes an ammeter in 3 minutes.
A1 V1
*18 What is the energy gained by a charge of 18 C when it passes through a source
of EMF of 12 V?
10 20 V *19 If a 1.5 m length of resistance wire has a resistance of 1.9 and the wire has a
diameter of 0.9 mm, calculate the resistivity of the wire.
*20 With the aid of a circuit diagram, show how you might measure the operating
resistance of a single light bulb. You have a battery, ammeter and voltmeter.
(c)
+ *21 The accumulator of a car produces 12 V. If the car lights at the sides and rear are
6V
each rated for 12 V, but the two interior lights are only rated at 6 V, how should
the lights be connected in series or in parallel?
10 V 10 *22 How does the resistance of a 60 W, 240 V light bulb compare with that of a 25 W,
240 V light bulb? Which has the thicker bulb filament?
*23 In each circuit of Figure 22.29, find the readings on all voltmeters and ammeters,
+
A1 as well as the total circuit equivalent resistance.
12 V *24 Explain why birds can safely touch overhead power cables but humans standing on
the ground cannot.
**25 In the circuit of Figure 22.30, calculate the following:

(a) The battery voltage.
(b) The circuit current at the points labelled X, Y and Z.
(c) The reading on the voltmeter, V.
2 4A
Figure 22.30
A For question 25.
8 V 16 16
X Y Z
4
**26 An automatic washing machine is labelled 240 V, 960 W. Calculate (a) the
operating current in normal use; (b) the operating resistance in normal use.
**27 A set of decorative Christmas lights consists of bulbs labelled 12 V, 1 W. If the
set is designed to operate from the AC mains, determine:
(a) how many bulbs are in the set;
(b) what the total power consumed by the set of lights is;
(c) what the average voltage drop across each bulb is;
(d) what the current in each bulb is and the resistance of each.
*28 Explain the physical and operational differences between a fuse and a
circuit-breaker as safety devices in household circuits.
* 29 Explain the precautions that are required if any metal-framed appliance is to be
connected to the household mains supply of electricity. Complete a circuit
diagram.
**30 Figure 22.31 shows a graph of potential difference versus current for two
different electrical devices A and B.
(a) Which device is an ohmic resistor?
(b) If A and B are connected in series and a current of 200 mA passes through
them, what is the total potential difference across A and B?
(c) If A and B are joined in parallel, what PD across them would produce a
current in A equal to half the current in B?
(d) What is the resistance of device A and how does this compare with the
resistance of B with a voltage of 15 V applied?
A B
Potential difference
25
Figure 22.31
20 For question 30.
(V)
15
10
5
100 200 300 400 500 600

Current (mA)
**31 The resistance of a 1.5 m length of conductor was measured as a function of
temperature and the following data values obtained:
Temp (C) 50 0 50 150 250

Resistance 102 2.6 3.35 3.9 5.3 6.6
(a) Plot a graph, resistance versus temperature. Use a line of best fit.
(b) From the line gradient, find the value of ().
(c) Develop a conversion formula from resistance to temperature.

*32 Draw the circuit diagram that represents the following description. Two
paralleled 50 resistors are connected in series with three larger resistors of
100, 200 and 250 . This assembly is connected to a 20 V battery and an
ammeter to measure total circuit current. A voltmeter and an ammeter must be
used to measure current flow through and voltage drop across one of the 50
resistors, when a main circuit switch is closed.
**33 Design and draw the diagram for a two-way model circuit that will operate a
lamp from two different locations in a house, say, from upstairs or downstairs.
**34 Electric kettles range in power from 1000 W to 2500 W. The rating is usually
stamped underneath. Table 22.6 has been taken from Choice magazine and
compares the performance of 10 different cordless kettles.
Ta b l e 2 2 . 6 C O R D L E S S K E T T L E S
BRAND: MODEL MASS CAPACITY BOILING POWER
(kg) (mL) TIME CONSUMPTION
(1 L WATER) (W)
Kambrook KU300 0.64 1500 3 min 15 s 1890
Kambrook KU400 0.64 1430 3 min 15 s 1910
Kenwood JK800 0.73 1640 2 min 50 s 2190
Linda Superboil LJ6 0.60 1500 3 min 5s 2040
Moulinex A94 0.70 1760 3 min 10 s 2010
Ronson 8523 0.71 1680 2 min 55 s 2210
Russel Hobbs 3110 0.92 1620 2 min 50 s 2240
Sunbeam KE019 0.71 2050 2 min 40 s 2290
Tefal Freeline 0.72 1660 3 min 0s 2120
(a) Plot a graph to determine if there is any relationship between power con-
sumption and the boiling time for 1 L of water. Describe the relationship.
(b) Estimate the boiling times of a 1600 W kettle and a 2400 W kettle.
(c) The efficiency of a kettle can be calculated by the formula:
power out
efficiency = power in 100%.
The power in is shown in the table as Power consumption. The power out can be
calculated from data about heating up the water. Assume that the water started
at a temperature of 25C. Calculate the efficiency of each kettle and make a rank
order of them. Are the high powered kettles the most efficient?
(Hint: the efficiency of the Linda superboil is 84%.)

***35 The headlights on a car operate typically at 60 W and the parking lights
typically at 5 W. Assuming there are two main headlights and four parking lights,
what length of time will it take to discharge a 60 Ah battery, if the
lights are left on?
***36 In the circuit of Figure 22.32, CD is a 2.0 m length of nichrome wire of value
1.8 . The galvanometer connected between A and B registers no current.
Calculate the value of the unknown resistor R.
R A 5
Figure 22.32
For question 36.
0.4 m 1.6 m
D C
B
6V
***37 The diagram of Figure 22.33 is known as a Wheatstone bridge and is used to
measure unknown resistances. An unknown resistance Rx is placed into the
circuit and resistor R3 is varied until the galvanometer reads zero current.
This is called a null balance.
(a) Explain what occurs when a null balance is attained in the circuit, in terms
of voltage.
R
(b) Prove that the formula for the unknown resistor is Rx = R2 R3.
1
(c) Calculate the value of an unknown resistor when R1 = 710 , R2 = 317 ,
R3 = 2.24 k.
Figure 22.33
R3 Rx Wheatstone bridge circuit.
G
s
R1 R2
***38 Figure 22.34 shows a complex circuit. Calculate the following values:
(a) total circuit resistance;
(b) voltage drop across the 60 resistor.
1.0 A Figure 22.34
A For question 38.
V 5
40 60 15 10
Figure 22.35
For question 39.
40 20
R1
***39 A 100 resistor is connected in series with a second, unknown, resistor, R2, and (100 )
a 120 V battery, as shown in Figure 22.35. If the battery has negligible internal 120 V
resistance and the unknown resistor dissipates 30 W of power, calculate its DC
resistance value. R2
(30 W)
(Hint: there are actually two values that are possible in this case!)

CHAPTER 23
Electronics
INTRODUCTION 23.1
It was seen in the previous chapter that electricity is very important in modern society.
Electronics is a relatively new branch of general electrical studies, which makes use of small-
scale components and circuits. The development of electronics in the latter half of the twen-
tieth century has led to many of our modern consumer electrical products and technology.
Unlike the general use of electricity that dates back well over 150 years, modern electronics
has expanded only since the invention of simple semiconductor devices in the early 1950s.
The improvement in understanding of solid state physical devices has made possible micro-
miniaturisation and very fast electronic circuit operations. These features are the basis of
modern computer technology and the real start of what has been termed the information age.
Electronic engineering today involves the use of many thousands of specialised com-
ponents and circuits that have all developed from the early discoveries in semiconductor solid
state physics. In this chapter we will look specifically at a set of basic electronic circuit
components and their behaviour. It is from this basic set of components that electronic
systems can be developed. This will be further discussed in Chapter 24. At the completion of
this chapter, you will be able to answer questions like the following:
Why do we have portable batteries but still need household electricity supplies?
What is the difference between DC and AC voltages and currents?
Is colour-blindness a problem for people working in electronics?
How can some electronic devices be made so small that they can hardly be seen?
Are electronic circuits, especially those of larger devices like TV sets and computers,
really as complex as they look?
MEASUREMENT AND TEST INSTRUMENTS 23.2

Multimeters
Photo 23.1 In the previous chapter, the basic electric measurement meters called the voltmeter and the
Electronic circuit boards. ammeter were introduced. These instruments are most often used in fixed circuit applications
or as stand-alone instruments to give a continuous voltage and current reading. In practical
electronics a more versatile and portable measurement instrument is required. This is the
multimeter. Its readout can be an analog needle over a scale or, more usually, a digital
display readout. (See Photo 22.4 on page 483.) Modern multimeters provide numerous
measurement quantities over a wide range of values, such as DC/AC voltage, DC/AC current,
resistance and conductivity testing, frequency, diode conductance and capacitance. Unlike the
older analog models which required the correct range of the quantity to be selected via a
selector switch, newer digital models are often auto-ranging, which means that the input
circuitry automatically senses the correct measurement range and produces an output that
matches this range. For example, without altering the instrument, apart from selecting AC
voltage, a technician is able to measure millivolts AC in a radio circuit, through to household
domestic 240 volt AC mains.
Electronics 501
It is always important to be aware of the measurement being made with a multimeter and
check both the quantity being measured and the approximate range of the values before
making any connection to a circuit. In any unknown measurement exercise it is good
protection policy to select the instruments highest scale setting and then adjust downward
until an appropriate instrument scale reading is achieved. It is also often necessary on some
multimeter models to adjust the input probe connectors on the face of the instrument and
move them to different sockets when changing from low values to high values. The manual
that comes with the multimeter will explain this. Recall also from the previous chapter that
any measurement instrument should affect the circuit under test as little as possible. Photo 23.2
CBL2 data-logger.
Especially with analog multimeters, this means that the instruments sensitivity range should
be as high as possible, with a value of 20 k/V being regarded as the most useful in profes-
sional electronic measurement. Digital multimeters have the advantage that their sensitivity
range is already very high due to the electronic integrated circuit components that comprise
the internal circuitry.
When using a multimeter to measure either DC or AC voltage, the probes should be placed
in parallel or across the component in the circuit in exactly the same way as a conventional
voltmeter. When using a multimeter to measure either DC or AC current, the probes will need
to be placed in series with the component, as with a conventional ammeter. This may neces-
sitate disconnecting one end of the component from the circuit and using the multimeter
probes to remake the connection. When using a multimeter to measure resistance, it is often
necessary, especially on analog models, to re-zero the meter. This means shorting the probes
together and using the ohms adjust knob to make sure that the needle of the multimeter
actually reads zero resistance. There is a variety of different multimeters and it is always
important to read the manual properly and take care in operating the instrument.
Data-loggers and sensors Photo 23.3

Power supplies.
You may be lucky enough to have the use of a set of measurement instruments that could
make the automatic measurement of electrical and other physics quantities very easy. This is
the laboratory data-logger; when coupled with electronic or other sensors and connected to
a graphics calculator, this allows not only the recording of data over time intervals from milli-
seconds to months, but also the analysis of that data almost immediately. Common sensors
such as current and voltage probes allow normal electrical circuit quantities to be logged, but
a range of non-electrical attachments such as accelerometers, pressure sensors, temperature
probes and rotation sensors allow an even greater range of physics measurements in your
experiments. Photo 23.2 (a) shows an example of the Texas instruments CBL2 data-logger
connected to the TI-83 Plus graphics calculator and sensors.
Power supplies
A bench-top power supply is needed for electronic testing as it supplies the necessary DC/AC
operating voltages for the components and circuit under test. Quite often these power
supply units in the laboratory are referred to as power packs or rectifiers. How they are
constructed will be further discussed in Section 23.6 and Chapter 31. One of the most impor-
tant considerations in the use of bench-top power supplies is to avoid the voltage connector
leads, the positive, negative or the AC leads, coming into contact and short-circuiting. Not
only will this usually produce dangerous sparking, but the power supply itself may be
damaged. The short circuit created will generally exceed the maximum current rating for
which the power supply is designed and internal damage may occur if the unit is not fuse-
protected or does not contain some form of current overload circuit-breaker. It is also import-
ant that you check that the voltage settings on the power supply are as low as possible before
turning the instrument on. In general, changes made to any electrical circuit should only be
made with its power supply connections turned off. This avoids very high voltage transient
spikes from causing possible damage to the circuit components under test.

Cathode ray oscilloscope

vertical
Figure 23.1 plates
Cathode ray tube assembly. (Y)
fluorescent
screen
focused
beam
spot
electron horizontal
gun (X) plates evacuated
l b
Photo 23.4 Invented in 1897 by a German physicist, Karl Ferdinand Braun, the cathode ray oscilloscope
A dual beam oscilloscope.
(CRO) is an instrument used widely in electric and electronic circuits to display and make
measurements on voltage waveforms. The CRO uses a very fast electron beam striking the
face of a cathode ray tube (CRT), which is being deflected by rapidly changing magnetic and
electric fields. The moving electron beam passes over the calibrated scale on the face of the
CRT and allows measurements of voltage wave shape, amplitude and frequency. As well, it
allows a simple visual inspection of the way the voltage may vary under different circuit
settings. Within the evacuated cathode ray tube, an electron gun emits a narrow beam of
electrons, which travel down the tube and strike a fluorescent screen at the front. Light is
emitted and a bright spot is formed on the screen. (See Figure 23.1 and Photo 23.4.) This
electron beam passes through a set of vertical deflection plates carrying a voltage propor-
tional to the input voltage being measured. This can be expanded by the use of the vertical
gain control. At the same time the beam passes through a set of horizontal deflection plates
across which is placed a regularly changing timebase voltage. The timebase voltage can be
selected by a control on the front of the CRO and allows the user to set the time the beam
takes to sweep from one side of the screen to the other. This is called the sweep time
and can vary from microseconds to seconds. The combination of vertical amplifier gain and
timebase produces a moving spot that perfectly matches the input voltage being tested, with
vertical scale divisions representing voltage amplitude and horizontal divisions representing
time. Figure 23.2 represents a typical CRO tracing for a constant DC voltage of 12 V as well as
Figure 23.2 a 100 Hz sine wave AC voltage if the timebase is set to one millisecond.
CRO tracings. Some of the common controls on a typical oscilloscope instrument are:
12 V DC Intensity and Focus these controls allow the brightness of the electron beam as
well as the spot sharpness to be adjusted on the screen.
Channels A and B these are the connector points for the input probes. Each probe
usually has a ground clip as well as the test clip, so that the input signal can be
measured with respect to the ground or zero potential. On dual-beam or dual-trace
oscilloscopes, two separate voltage signals can be connected and displayed on the
respective A and B inputs.
Horizontal and Vertical positions these controls allow the overall positioning of the
spot or trace to be adjusted. For convenience, especially on dual-beam oscilloscopes,
Volts/div =5V two separate voltage waveforms may need to be adjusted horizontally or vertically so
Sec/div = 1 ms
DC/GND/AC = DC
that they can be more easily compared. There are separate controls for each channel.
Volts/div this stands for volts per 1 cm division in the vertical direction. This is
100 Hz AC
the vertical amplifier gain control and allows the complete input waveform to be
displayed no matter what its amplitude might be.
Sec/div this stands for seconds per 1 cm division in the horizontal direction. This
is the timebase horizontal deflection adjustment. The selector switch will set the
time interval representing each horizontal division.
Trigger level this setting determines the point at which the beam begins its sweep
across the screen. It allows synchronisation of the sweep timebase waveform and the
input test waveform so that the signal trace is stable on the screen and does not drift
about. The trigger may be either an internal instrument signal or an external signal.
Volts/div =2V
= 1 ms
DC/GND/AC this selector switch is set to the type of input waveform being
Sec /div
DC/GND/AC = AC
measured. For example, if set to AC, any DC component of the input test voltage
signal will not cause extra vertical deflection.
Electronics 503
AC waveform analysis Figure 23.3

AC waveform analysis.
Consider Figure 23.3, which illustrates the voltage waveform as seen on an oscilloscope
connected across resistor R. In the DC case the voltage waveform is easily described as a
+
single fixed voltage; however, in the AC case there exist several alternatives in describing the
magnitude of the voltage. Note that in the AC case, the frequency of the waveform would DC R CRO

almost certainly be 50 Hz as supplied by any standard power supply.
Whereas direct current (DC) only flows in one direction, alternating current (AC) reverses
direction at a given frequency as determined by the alternating voltage. Often the AC voltage
V/cm
can be mathematically described as a sinusoidal voltage (sine wave) represented by the
expression:
V = V 0 sint = V 0 sin(2f)t t (s)
where V = instantaneous voltage; V0 = voltage maximum; f = frequency; t = time.

Let us look carefully at the methods of describing the AC waveform magnitude or ampli-
tude. It is obvious that the average of all instantaneous voltage points over one complete AC
cycle will be zero volts, as the positive area equals the negative area if the waveform is AC
perfectly symmetrical about the zero axis. One method called the peak voltage, VP, is to read (f) R CRO
the scaled vertical amplifier from the zero axis up to the top of the sine wave. In Figure 23.3,
if the vertical amplifier was set at 5 volts/div then the reading would be VP = 10 V. A second
method is to record the peak to peak voltage, VPP, off the vertical amplifier scale from the
V/cm
top of a crest to the bottom of a trough. Thus VPP = 2VP = 20 V. The most common method is
VP
to employ the reading known as the root mean square voltage, VRMS. VRMS
It can be shown mathematically that:
+ +
t (s)
V
V RMS = P = 0.7 V P
2
In the AC waveform of Figure 23.3:
10
V RMS = = 7.07 V
2
The reason why the VRMS method is most often used to describe AC voltages is that the
average power dissipated in a resistor by any RMS voltage over one complete cycle will be
identical to the power dissipated in the same resistor by an equivalent DC voltage. In terms
of resistive electrical power dissipation, VRMS (AC) = VDC and thus a method of direct com-
parison is obtained.
An AC voltmeter or multimeter set to read AC voltage will usually display its output
directly on an RMS scale. An oscilloscope will most conveniently display the waveform as a
measured VP or VPP value. In some electronic circuits, the actual voltages present at particu-
lar points as viewed on an oscilloscope will often contain both DC and AC components. In
these instances, the oscilloscope can be used to measure the DC offset voltage as well as the
RMS ripple voltage.
Circuit symbols
Recall that in the previous chapter in Figure 22.19, several electric circuit symbols were
introduced. At this point it would be appropriate to introduce a further set of specific
electric circuit symbols for devices that will be met from this point onward. Any table such as
this can never be complete and reference to other textbooks and electronics magazines will
build up your knowledge and ability to recognise a large number of electronic circuit symbols.
(See Figure 23.4.)

Figure 23.4
Electronic circuit symbols.
Potentiometer Capacitor variable
Air-cored inductor coil Iron-cored inductor coil
Electrolytic capacitor Electromagnetic speaker
Transducer input Signal antenna
Relay contacts PN diode
Reed switch Zener diode
NPN transistor Light emitting diode
PNP transistor LED Light emitting diode
SCR C
A G
LDR Light dependent resistor Silicon controlled rectifier
IN OUT
Operational amplifier IC GND Voltage regulator IC
A Q A Q
B B
Digital AND gate IC Digital NAND gate IC
Q1
Q2
CIK
Microphone and voltage amplifier Q3
Clock and binary counter digital IC
Electronics 505
23.3 R E S I S TO R S I N E L E C T R O N I C S
At this point it would be useful to revise the basic properties of resistance, as described in Figure 23.5
Section 22.4. In this chapter we will look closely at the practical electronic resistor com- Resistor types.
ponent and its uses. Resistors are simple devices used to control the flow of electric current carbon compound
as well as act in voltage divider networks. Resistors are generally of two types: fixed and
variable. They differ considerably in physical size due to the total electrical power they are
required to dissipate in a circuit. A resistor dissipates energy when a current flows through it lead
and the resistor consequently heats up. It must be able to lose this heat energy to the air or plastic case
cooling elements without being damaged. The rate of energy dissipation, or its power rating,
Carbon composition
is determined by its physical size and shape. The greater the resistors surface area, the
greater is its power rating. Commonly in electronics, manufacturers mass-produce resistors resistive film
that are able to dissipate one-quarter watt ( 41 W) and ( 21 W), (1 W) or (5 W). Resistors made
from wire-wound elements are able to dissipate even greater power. When used in electronic
circuits, the power rating of a resistor must exceed its actual operating power dissipation, lead
otherwise physical burn-out will occur a possible cause of electrical fires in poorly
end cap
designed electronic devices.
Carbon film
Example
In a simple DC circuit, with a voltage supply of 9 V, what value series resistor will limit the
current flow to 90 mA? What is this resistors power rating in the circuit and what would be
the best resistor type to purchase for the circuit construction?
Solution
Given V = 9 V, I = 90 103 A, and using: resistive former
element
V=IR Wire-wound
9 = 90 10 3 R
R = 100 as the value of the resistor
wiper
Power rating P = V I, P = 9 90 103
= 0.81 W. track
Hence the best resistor would be a 100 , 1 W type.
Fixed resistors lead l lead 2

In electronics, resistors are usually made of some form of carbon mixture. The simplest type
of resistor is the carbon composition resistor, made of finely divided graphite carbon mixed centre tap
with a powdered insulating medium such as crushed clay in a defined proportion. This mix-
Variable
ture is pressed into a plastic case with two connector leads embedded into the mixture and
supported by the case (Figure 23.5). A more recent construction is the carbon film resistor
in which a graphite carbon film is deposited on the outside of a ceramic rod. A spiral pattern
is wound around the rod so that the effective length of the resistor film is often considerably
longer than the rod itself. Special metal end caps are welded to the connector leads and
pressed over the ends of the rod to complete the electrical path. Metal film resistors are
similar to carbon film except that the resistive element is made from a metal oxide such as
tin oxide. The advantage is that closer tolerance to the stated resistor value in ohms can be
maintained, and the oxide film has a much longer lifetime than carbon film; however, they
are more expensive to make. A wire-wound resistor can be made in which a resistive wire
element (nichrome) is wound around a small core called a former. The main advantage with
this type is the higher power rating that can be achieved especially if the former is hollow
and air- or fluid-cooled. Generally, manufacturers use an outer coating of paint or epoxy
compound over the resistor in order to print onto the component the descriptive colour code
or simple ohmic value, power rating and tolerance percentage. Electronics technicians become
quite expert at recognising resistor values directly from their printed colour codes.

Variable resistors
Not all electronic resistors are fixed in value; a host of different types of variable resistors are
manufactured. A variable resistor is generally a two-terminal device that is used in circuits
to vary the electric current flowing; however, three terminal devices called potentiometers,
or pots, are also common and these are generally used to vary voltage or potential in
applications such as volume controls on radios and rheostats in light dimmers. The term pot
is now generally used in electronics to describe any variable resistor, no matter what its
primary function. The resistive element of these devices usually is either a carbon deposit on
an insulating surface, or a resistive wire wound around a suitable former. A moving arm or
wiper is drawn across the resistive element and connects to a metal contact, with the total
resistance of the device changing from zero ohms at one end to the maximum ohms value at
the other end.
Often the resistive element design follows a linear relationship, where the resistance is
proportional to how far the wiper arm has moved, called an A-type pot. In other cases the
resistance change is logarithmic in nature. This is called a C-type pot and is most often used
as a volume control in an audio amplifier as it matches the human ears logarithmic response
to sound volume changes.
Preferred resistance values and colour codes

All resistors have three basic parameters: wattage, resistance and tolerance or accuracy.
Physical size and type determine the wattage. Some manufacturers use a cream body colour
for carbon film resistors and a blue or green body for metal film types. Manufacturers use a
standardised band colour code printed on smaller resistors where physical lettering is not
Figure 23.6 2nd digit multiplier

Resistor colour code.
1st digit tolerance %
Black - 0 Gold - 5%
Brown - 1 Silver - 10%
Red - 2 None - 20%
Orange - 3
Yellow - 4
Green - 5
Blue - 6
Violet - 7
Grey - 8
White - 9
Example
Red Red Green Silver
is
2.2 M + 10%
Electronics 507
possible. The resistor colour code illustrated in Figure 23.6 and in the centre colour pages is
one of the best known in electronics and with a little practice in reading the code it is
easily committed to memory. The coloured bars always start closer to one end of the resistor
and this is the bar that is used first in order to deduce the value in ohms of the resistor.
If ever there is any doubt about the resistor colour code, then a multimeter should be used
to determine a resistors actual ohmic value.
The bands of the colour code as marked on a resistor give both the ohmic value and its
tolerance as follows:
Band 1 first figure of ohmic value.
Band 2 second figure of ohmic value.
Band 3 multiplier for the first two figures.
Band 4 tolerance band colours, where brown is 1%, red is 2%, gold is 5%, silver is
10%, and none represents 20%.
Note that some resistors have a five band colour code and in this case the first three bands
give the first three digits in the value, the fourth in the multiplier and the fifth is the tolerance.
Because it would be impractical to manufacture every possible value of resistance, there
exists a preferred value set of resistors used in circuit construction. The most common pre-
ferred value range is known as the E12 series (12 values per 100). An E24 series also exists
(24 values per 100). These preferred value sets apply to each of nine decade ranges or multi-
pliers from 102 to 106 (Table 23.1).
Ta b l e 2 3 . 1 R E S I S TO R P R E F E R R E D VA L U E S E R I E S
E12 SERIES () E24 SERIES ()
10 33 10 18 33 56
12 39 11 20 36 62
15 47 12 22 39 68
18 56 13 24 43 75
22 68 15 27 47 82
27 82 16 30 51 91
Decades 1001000
0.010.1 100010 000
0.11 10 000100 000
110 100 0001 000 000
10100 1 000 00010 000 000
Thus, any manufactured resistor must begin with a number from the E12 or E24 series and be
a multiple from 102 or 106. It should be noted at this point that in some resistor applications
in electronics, critical values of resistance are not important, as a circuit will often perform
quite successfully with anything up to about 20% tolerance in resistor values. Figure 23.7
Voltage divider circuit.
Resistors as voltage dividers A A
Recall that the total resistance in series of several resistors is the sum of each individual resis- R1 = 10
tance. If the circuit of Figure 23.7 is set up, the respective voltage drops across each resistor
+ B
in the series chain can be used as a separate voltage supply. That is, the 12 volt DC supply
can be split into three separate voltages, VAB, VBC, VCD. Ohms law can be used to calculate 12 V R2 = 22
DC
the respective voltages and maximum currents that can be supplied using such a voltage
C
divider circuit. Any electronic device, such as a small motor, connected to any output of the
divider cannot draw a very large current compared with that flowing around the divider R3 = 47
circuit, otherwise the effect on the voltage divider will be quite large. The general rule is that
D
as the current drawn from a voltage divider circuit increases, the output voltage decreases.
Refer to the following example.

Example
Consider the circuit shown in Figure 23.7. Calculate:
(a) the current drawn from the 12 V supply as registered on the ammeter;
(b) the value of the voltages VAB, VBC, VCD;
(c) the most appropriate connection points for a 3 V, 10 mA motor.
Solution
Total circuit resistance = R1 + R2 + R3 = 79 .
(a) To calculate the ammeter current, use:
I = V = 12 = 150 mA
R tot 79
(b) To calculate the respective voltages, use:

Voltage VAB = I R1 = 150 mA 10 = 1.5 V.
Voltage VBC = I R2 = 150 mA 22 = 3.3 V.
Voltage VCD = I R3 = 150 mA 47 = 7.0 V.
(c) As the required 10 mA maximum is considerably less that the 150 mA flowing
through the divider network, the motor will not load the circuit and the most
appropriate connection points to operate the motor are voltage VBC.
In order to produce a continuously variable voltage divider it is necessary to substitute a
potentiometer for the fixed resistor chain. Volume controls on a radio or TV work this way,
with the potentiometer being a 10 k or 20 k type. The movable wiper of the pot produces
a continuously variable output voltage from zero to the maximum available at the divider
input. These devices are usually controlling very small voltages and currents present within a
radio receiver or small amplifier.
A c t i v i t y 2 3 . 1 T E A C H E R R E S I S TA N C E
Obtain from your teacher numerous examples of different resistors. Use the colour code
to determine their nominal resistance value, or read it directly and compare this with the
actual value as determined by a multimeter set to read resistance. Be careful to correctly
set the multimeter to its correct range and check that it is zeroed properly by shorting
its measurement probes and checking for zero ohms. Use the ohms adjust control if
necessary.
Questions
1 List four different types of electronic test instruments and explain their functions.
2 If the waveform being observed on an oscilloscope is too small and the peaks too
close together, explain the adjustments necessary to redisplay the waveform
with greater clarity.
3 Convert 15.6 VRMS to a peak to peak value.
4 A resistor of value 470 is required to control a current of 250 mA. What
minimum power rating is appropriate? What is its colour code markings?
C A PA C I TO R S , I N D U C TO R S A N D R E L AY S 23.4
Resistors dissipate energy in the form of heat and hence they cannot store energy. Two
components that are capable of storing energy in electrical circuits are the capacitor, which
stores energy in an electric field, and the inductor, which stores energy in a magnetic field.
Electronics 509
Capacitors and DC Figure 23.8

Capacitors: dielectric (a); symbols
(b); uncharged (c); charged (d).
A capacitor can be likened to a very fast storage tank for electric charges. It consists basi-
cally of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material called the dielectric. This (a)
assembly is often housed in a protective outer coating with either the plates held flat as in
a disc, or with the metal foil plates and dielectric rolled up to form a cylinder. In both cases, metal
either via markings or colour coding, the outer casing holds information such as capacitance plates
value, tolerance and working voltage. Connecting leads allow the flow of current to and from dielectric
the capacitors plates (Figure 23.8 and Photo 23.5). insulator
According to literature, the first capacitor, called a Leyden jar, was discovered almost
simultaneously by Dean von Kleist of the cathedral of Camin in Germany in October 1745, and (b)
Peter von Muschenbrock, professor in the University of Leyden, in January 1746. As described
by them, it was a glass jar or vial with inner and outer electrodes made of various substances
water, mercury, metal foil, etc. The modern miniature glass dielectric capacitor differs in symbols
form and structure from the 250-year-old Leyden jar, but the principle of operation is the
same. (c)
If a DC voltage is applied to a capacitor, an electric current will carry charge to the S

plates, so that one plate becomes positively charged and the other is left negatively charged. +
When a capacitor is fully charged, several conditions exist: DC

There is equal and opposite charge on the plates.
The voltage across the plates equals the supply voltage, Vs.
An electric field exists within the dielectric. C
Any further flow of direct current (DC) is blocked. (d)
The capacitance, C, of this system is defined as the amount of charge in coulombs, Q, stored S
on each plate when the potential difference voltage, V, across the plates is 1 V. Capacitance
Q + V
C= is in coulombs per volt; 1 C V1 = 1 farad (F). The unit called the farad is named after s
DC
V C
Michael Faraday (17911867), the great British physicist who was the first to develop the +
+
idea of electric and magnetic fields. +
+
Typical capacitors in electronics have values ranging from one microfarad (1 F) to one E
thousand microfarads (1000 F). The capacitance of any capacitor is dependent on the type
of dielectric material it contains and, because the dielectric material is usually very thin, all
capacitors have a maximum working voltage rating. Capacitor leakage refers to the
amount of charge that is lost during capacitor operation when a voltage is applied across its Photo 23.5
terminals. Generally with modern electronic capacitors, leakage is not an important factor in Capacitors and inductors.
circuit design.
Using calculus, it is possible to calculate, in joules, the total energy, W, stored in a fully
charged capacitor. If Q is the charge stored on each capacitor plate, C is the capacitance and
V is the working voltage across the plates, then:
2 2
W = QV = CV = Q
2 2 2C
Generally capacitors are used in one of three ways in electronic circuits.

In conjunction with resistors, they can be used in timing circuits, making use of the
length of time it takes for a particular voltage across the capacitor plates to appear.
To bypass or filter rapidly changing AC frequencies and block the flow of DC.
To eliminate voltage fluctuations arising from the conversion of AC voltage to DC
voltage.
These last two applications are further discussed in Sections 23.5, 23.6 and Chapter 31.
Types of capacitors
Different types of capacitors vary widely in their electrical characteristics. Lets look at the
most common types.

Plastic-film capacitors These are constructed as shown in Figure 23.8, although most often
the metal foil plates and insulating dielectric are rolled into a cylinder. The dielectric for these
One bit of computer memory capacitors is usually mylar or polyester. The popular greencap capacitor uses a metallised
consists of a capacitor which polyester film. They have good temperature stability and are used commonly in audio, radio,
stores a half a million excess computer and general electronics. Polystyrene dielectric or styroseal capacitors have a
electrons. In 1970, they
very low leakage rate but they are quite expensive, while mains (240 V AC) rated capacitors
required 2 million electrons per
use a polycarbonate dielectric that can repair itself. Plastic film capacitors in general are
bit. In 2025 it is predicted that
they will be down to 1 electron
non-polarised, which means they can be connected with either wire to the positive.
per bit. Wouldnt it make more Ceramic capacitors These are most commonly constructed in the form of a flat circular disc.
sense to try and get more Silver is vaporised onto both sides of a ceramic material that produces a large capacitance for
electrons into each capacitor, a small size. This type of capacitor has a very high ability to withstand high voltages without
not fewer? After 2025, could breaking down. Their excellent temperature stability and low inductance make them useful in
they try for half an electron? digital circuits and radioTV tuning circuits.
Explain the fallacy of this Electrolytic capacitors An aluminium oxide electrolyte forms the dielectric on the surface
argument. of the plates. This type of capacitor is polarised, meaning that it must be connected into
circuit the right way round as indicated on the casing, one end to positive and the other
to negative. Reverse polarisation allows DC conduction, with possible heating up and explo-
sive breakdown. The electrolytics are usually high capacitance (1 10 000 F) but have rather
high leakage rates and are thus used in low frequency applications, power supplies and in
audio amplifiers. If the electrolyte dielectric is tantalum dioxide, the capacitor is known as a
tag tantalum. This type has very low leakage and high stability but is expensive.
Variable capacitors These are used in conjunction with inductors in radioTV tuning circuits.
Usually they are constructed with two sets of metal vanes that can be rotated against
each other on a common shaft. The degree of plate overlap determines the capacitance. The
dielectric is often air, or mylar plastic film. A small version of the variable capacitor gang is
usually known as a trimmer. (See the Photo 23.5 and Chapter 31).
Combining capacitors
The pigtails or connecting leads attached to capacitor plates are usually arranged to exit
either from both ends (axial type) or from the same end (PCB mount type). This allows easy
multiple connections in parallel or series to produce variations in capacitance if required. If
two capacitors are connected in parallel, the area of the plates is effectively increased. This
allows more charge per unit voltage, hence a linear increase in effective capacitance. If two
capacitors are connected in series, the effective thickness of the dielectric is increased, result-
ing in a lower charge storage per unit voltage, that is, an effective capacitance decrease.
Parallel connection: Ctot = C1 + C2
1 1 1
Figure 23.9 Series connection: C = C + C
Combining capacitors: series tot 1 2
combination (a); parallel Note that these combination rules for capacitors are opposite in behaviour to resistors. (See
combination (b). Figure 23.9.)
(a) (b)
Series combination Parallel combination
1 = 1 + 1 C1 C2 Ctot = C1 + C2 C1 Ctot
Ctot C1 C2
C2
Ctot
The RC timing constant circuit

If you reconsidered the charging circuit of Figure 23.8(d) and added a series resistor, then
the time it takes for the capacitor to become fully charged would be increased. The rate at
which a capacitor charges (the voltage across it approaches the supply voltage) is determined
Electronics 511
VC
Figure 23.10
S Charge curve for a capacitor.
100
Percentage of VS
80
63%
R () Vs 60
40
20
C (F)
2 3 4 5
Time (s)
by the size of the series resistance in the circuit, as this resistance controls the rate of flow
of charge to the plates. The charging curve of a capacitor is shown in Figure 23.10. It is an
exponential curve and the length of time it takes for the voltage across the capacitor to reach N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
63% of the supply voltage, VS, is called one time constant. This is given the symbol , tau, It is sometimes said that the
which is the Greek letter t. Notice that the charging exponential curve shows that in theory discharge of a capacitor is
a capacitor never really fully charges, but mathematical calculations show that after 5 mathematically similar to the
the capacitor voltage VC = 99% of VS. Mathematically, one time constant period, measured in emptying of a bucket of water
seconds, in this type of RC circuit is given by with a hole in the bottom.
Explain why the two discharge
=RC curves are the same.
Symmetry of shape between the discharge curve and the charge curve allows us to predict
that when a capacitor discharges through a resistor, its voltage will drop by 63% of its initial
value also in one time constant period ( = RC).
The timing circuit that is produced by an RC series connection has many uses. To make a
timer we need a circuit that triggers when a voltage reaches a particular value as determined
by a charging capacitor. RC networks can also be used to modify a waveform shape. Usually
RC networks are used as filters, such as bass and treble or loudness controls in a stereo
amplifier. These RC filter circuits alter the frequency response and waveform shapes of the
electric signals at their inputs.
Example
Consider the circuit of Figure 23.11, showing an RC timing circuit with a supply voltage of 10 Figure 23.11
volts DC. Calculate the time constant, , for the circuit and the time it takes for C to become
fully charged after switch S is closed.
S
Solution
Vs = 10 V
If VS = 10 V, C = 100 F, R = 10 k, +
100 F
then = RC = 1 104 1 104 = 1.0 s. C

This will represent a voltage VC = 63% VS = 6.3 V.
The capacitor will be fully charged, VC = 10 V, after 5 = 5.0 s. R 10 k
A c t i v i t y 2 3 . 2 C A PA C I TO R C O L O U R S
A capacitor purchased from an electronics store has the following markings on it:
473K1000. This is known as the E.I.A. marking code and allows the capacitance,
tolerance and voltage rating to be read.
1 Research the E.I.A. capacitor marking code to determine what these markings
represent.
2 Some capacitors, such as TAG tantalums and polycarbonates, have a colour code
system. Research the meaning and design of this colour code on these capacitors.

Inductors and DC
An inductor is another component for storing energy in an electronic circuit. Energy is stored
in the form of a magnetic field. Inductors are simply coils of fine wire wound on a rigid
former and vary in size from very large air-cored devices to handle large currents, to small
ferrite (compressed iron dust)-cored devices often called choke coils because they are used
to severely reduce certain frequencies in AC circuits. (Refer to Photo 23.5.) Two inductors
wound on the same laminated core assembly are called transformers and are used to change
the magnitudes of AC voltages; see Chapter 26 for more details. Variable inductors can be
easily manufactured using a ferrite rod that can be moved in and out of the inductor core
(Figure 23.12). In fluorescent lights the inductor is often called the ballast.
Figure 23.12
Inductor coils.
air- ferrite
cored cored
laminated core
symbol transformer
L symbol coils
L L1 L2
Several principles are involved in explaining the operation of an inductor. Basically, the
Figure 23.13 inductor follows the theory of an electromagnet or solenoid, as will be discussed in Chapter
Inductor time constant.
25. It is important here to realise that:
V S a constant direct current (DC) flowing through an inductor coil produces a constant
+
magnetic field surrounding the inductor, which is similar in shape to a bar magnet
field
R I
A varying DC flowing through the inductor will cause the magnetic field to vary
()
the varying magnetic field that cuts the turns of the inductor will induce a voltage
EMF or EMF across the inductor. This induced EMF always opposes the flow of a changing
+
electric current through the inductor. Thus, an inductor has greatest influence on
L (H) continuously varying AC currents and theoretically has no effect at all on DC.
Inductor produces a back
EMF voltage to oppose
If an inductor is connected into a DC circuit with a resistance, it will take longer for the
the increase in current, I. current flow to reach its maximum value (as determined by Ohms law) than if the inductor
was not present (Figure 23.13). This property of an inductor is called its self-inductance, L,
and is measured in a unit called a henry (H). An inductor has a self-inductance of 1 henry if
Imax
100 an EMF of 1 volt is induced across its ends for a change of current of 1 amp per second.
% current, I (A)
80
60 V = L I
40
t
20
Typical inductors in electronics have values of microhenrys (H) or millihenrys (mH).
2 3 4 If the graph of Figure 23.13 is considered, the increase in current through the inductor
Time (s) L
= L (s)
produces an effective inductive time constant, , where = R . Again, one time constant
R
period is the time it takes for the current through the inductor to reach 63% of its final ohmic
value.
Electronics 513
All inductors store energy in their associated magnetic fields. When the DC current I
reaches a constant value, the energy being stored in the coil will remain constant and is
determined by the formula:
1
W= I 2L (joules)
2
where L is the self-inductance in henrys.

Inductors connected in series in a circuit effectively increase the total self-inductance:
L tot = L 1 + L 2 + L 3 + . . . in series
Inductors connected in parallel effectively decrease the self-inductance:
1 = 1 + 1 + 1 + . . . in parallel
Ltot L1 L2 L3
Reed switches and relays

(a) (b) (c) external Figure 23.14
glass envelope contacts Reed switches and relays:
simple reed switch (a); reed relay (b);
S electromagnetic relay (c).
V
armature
and
N S pivot
L
motion closes
switch soft-iron
core
coil contacts
symbol
buzzer
A simple reed switch consists of two pieces of metal inside a glass housing, which will
contact together when an external magnet is brought into close proximity. This closed reed
switch can then be used to carry an electric current and turn on a light bulb, for example
(Figure 23.14(a)).
A reed relay replaces the permanent magnet in the reed switch assembly with an induc- Photo 23.6
tor coil carrying an electric current. The magnetic field generated by the inductor again Circuit board relays.
closes the reed switch. The reed relay is most useful where one circuit is needed to inde-
pendently control another. In Figure 23.14(b), a small inductor coil current can control the
larger DC current required to operate the buzzer alarm.
An electromagnetic relay takes the concept of a reed relay further. It has an L-shaped
armature of soft iron, which is attracted to a much stronger iron-cored inductor coil energised
by a small DC voltage (Figure 23.14(c) and Photo 23.6). The L-shaped armature is arranged
generally to open or close sets of contacts. In this way one relay device may trigger several
sets of external circuits from one coil. When the coil current stops, the relay latches out and
breaks the external contacts.
Electromagnetic relays, switches and inductors are very common in household devices,
such as washing machines and electric circuit-breakers. These applications of electromag-
netism will be further discussed in Chapters 25 and 26.

Questions
5 What is capacitance? If a capacitor is marked 0.01 F, 240 V, what does this mean?
6 What are the common types of capacitors used in electronics?
7 Determine the time constant for a series RC circuit where V = 12 V, R = 120 k,
C = 100 pF.
8 How does an inductor store energy and what determines the amount of energy
stored in any particular inductor?
9 An inductor coil has a resistance of 5.0 and an inductance of 120 mH. If a
voltage of 12 V is applied, what time will it take for the coil current to reach its
maximum value and what will this current maximum be?
S E M I C O N D U C TO R D E V I C E S 23.5
Conduction and semiconduction
Metals are crystalline materials, with a structure made up of atoms in a regular lattice pat-
tern. The atomic nuclei and inner electrons of the atoms are fixed in position in the lattice,
while the outer electrons are virtually free to drift, at normal temperatures under thermal
equilibrium, in an electron sea. If an electric field is applied across the metal, these con-
duction electrons drift with a velocity of about 1 104 m s1 and provide excellent conduc-
tivity. Copper, silver and gold are among the best electrical conductors. Electrical insulators
such as glass or plastic do not possess an electron sea and, hence, no free conduction elec-
trons. In order to break the bonds between electrons and nuclei, extremely high voltages are
necessary. They do not normally conduct electricity.
Semiconductor materials lie between these two conduction extremes and are made from
elements of group IV on the periodic table. Some common semiconductor crystalline mate-
rials are silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide and cadmium sulfide. It is from this class of
materials that devices in modern solid state electronics, such as diodes, transistors and inte-
grated circuits, are constructed. Lets look closer at their conduction properties and how to
improve them, using pure silicon as the primary example (Figure 23.15).
Figure 23.15 (a) (b)

Intrinsic semiconduction in
silicon: semiconductor lattice (a); Si Si Si
electron charge carriers (b).
holes
free Si
crystal +
lattice +
Si Si Si
+ +
electrons
Si Si Si
electron-hole pair
Figure 23.15 represents, in 2D, a small region of silicon crystal with the atoms tetra-
hedrally bonded to each other, with four pairs of electrons sharing covalent bonds. At tem-
peratures above absolute zero (when semiconductors are in fact good insulators) some
electrons break away from the nuclei and move into a conduction band where they are able
to move easily through the crystal under normal thermal excitation.
In silicon, the thermal energy necessary for a conduction electron to break free is about
one electron-volt (1 eV). Notice that this leaves behind a fixed hole in the valence bond of
the crystalline lattice into which a free electron may drop. Thus, electron-hole pairs are
Electronics 515
produced randomly at normal ambient temperatures. As the temperature rises, more energy is
available and so more electron-hole pairs are produced. Electron-hole pairs are being created
and destroyed constantly in the semiconductor lattice as electrons fall back into holes, but
an equilibrium is established. It is these electron-hole pairs that are able to conduct elec-
tricity through the semiconductor crystal when an external electric field is applied. Notice
that semiconductors will therefore increase their conductivity at higher temperatures, which
is an effect opposite to that of normal metallic conductors. A disastrous thermal breakdown
in semiconductor electronic components can occur if they are allowed to overheat.
Electrical conduction through a semiconductor crystal via negative charge carriers (elec-
trons) and positive charge carriers (holes) is called intrinsic semiconduction and is usually
not very practical for electric circuits and devices. The basic conduction of semiconductors
can be improved by a chemical process calling doping, whereby small proportions of impur-
ity atoms are added to the crystal. This is done during a high temperature molten phase so
that when the mixture recrystallises, the dopant impurity atoms will take the place of normal
silicon atoms in the lattice pattern. Typical doping ratios are of the order of 1 in 108 atoms.
Doping can also be produced by neutron bombardment (NTDS). Refer to Chapter 28.
N-type silicon
The doping addition of pentavalent atoms from group V of the periodic table, such as phos-
phorus, arsenic or antimony, produces extra electrons available for conduction because these
atoms contain five valence electrons, one more than silicon. Since most of the current
carriers are electrons, they are referred to as the majority charge carriers in this form of
N-type silicon. Of course, there are still available holes and these are called the minority
charge carriers in the conduction process through this type of silicon.
P-type silicon
The doping addition of small amounts of trivalent group III elements, such as aluminium,
boron or gallium, produces extra holes available for conduction as these atoms have only
three valence electrons, one less than silicon. Within the lattice of P-type silicon, majority
charge carriers are thus holes, while the minority charge carriers are electrons.
The added versatility and improved electrical conduction of doped semiconductor crystal
is much more useful and under certain circumstances approaches the very good conductivity
of normal metals. The use of doped semiconductor properties is referred to as extrinsic
semiconduction (Figure 23.16).
N-type P-type Impurity doping: N-type silicon (a);
Si Si Si Si Si Si P-type silicon (b).
electron hole
Si P Si Si Al Si
Si Si Si Si Si Si
pentavalent trivalent
PN junction and biasing

Semiconductors, via either intrinsic or extrinsic conduction, allow current to flow in either
direction through the crystal. When a piece of N-type material is fused with a piece of P-type
material in such a way as to provide a continuous crystalline structure, then a device called a

PN junction diode is formed. The PN diode has the very useful characteristic of allowing
direct current (DC) to flow in only one direction at a time. It becomes a solid state
rectifier (Figure 23.17). When a PN diode junction is formed, electrons from the N-type side
of the junction diffuse across into the P-type side of the junction and combine with holes.
This effect produces a small potential difference, which eventually stops any further diffusion
of electrons, resulting in a permanent potential barrier at the site of the PN junction. The
zone of the crystal across which the potential barrier forms is called a depletion layer.
At normal ambient temperatures in a silicon-based PN junction diode this depletion layer
represents an effective EMF of about 0.60.7 V. This value in any particular diode is depen-
dent on the exact doping conditions in the crystal and will decrease with lower temperatures.
Figure 23.17 Fused junction depletion

A PN junction diode (silicon). layer
P N P N
holes electrons
0.7 V
anode cathode
+
P-type N-type
Circuit symbol
Figure 23.18 holes holes

Bias conditions for a PN diode. Forward Reverse
+ +
bias P N good bias P N no
conduction conduction
electrons electrons
+ +
Consider now what occurs when this PN diode is connected in series with a battery whose
EMF is greater than 0.7 V (Figure 23.18). The connecting of a fixed voltage to a semiconduc-
tor electronic device in order to set its operating conditions is called setting the bias. With
forward biasing, that is, P-type positive and N-type negative, electrons are forced from the
N region into the P region, while holes effectively move in the opposite direction. The deple-
tion layer is effectively eliminated and the diode conducts easily, requiring a current-limiting
resistor to avoid rapid overheating. With reverse biasing, that is, P-type negative and N-type
positive, electrons are attracted away from the junction in the N region, and holes effectively
move toward the positive end of the crystal. The depletion layer is effectively widened and
the potential barrier becomes equal to the bias voltage. Conductivity is stopped through the
crystal and no current at all will flow. It should be noted that if a very high external reverse
bias voltage is connected to the PN diode, it may very well break down due to the crystalline
structure not being large enough to prevent discharge current flow through the diode. This
is very damaging to normal diodes and is called avalanche breakdown. Because of this,
most diodes have a stated peak inverse voltage (PIV), with power diodes between 400 V and
1000 V and small signal diodes between about 70 and 100 V.
In summary, the conduction characteristics for a normal PN diode are represented
graphically in Figure 23.19. A diode is a good conductor when forward biased above 0.7 V and
a DC block when reverse biased. Notice that the graph of Figure 23.19 definitely shows that
a diode is not an ohmic device in its IV characteristics because it is not a linear relationship.
Electronics 517
I (mA)
Figure 23.19
20 Currentvoltage (IV)
characteristics of a diode.
10
reverse 75 50 25
volts (V) forward
volts (V) 0.5 1.0 1.5
100
200
reverse current (A)
Application devices
The PN junction is the basic element in a silicon solar cell. Light incident on a PN junction
will produce an EMF between the sides of the junction (Figure 23.20). In practice this EMF is
about 0.6 V. In an external circuit connected between the two sides of the junction and
through a load resistor, R, current flows as long as light is incident on the junction. The
current flow depends on the light intensity, as this controls the number of free electron-hole
pairs created in the junction. Very pure silicon crystal is needed in solar cell design to
minimise possible sites of electron-hole recombination. Low-cost silicon solar cells should
make significant contributions to societys future energy production methods.
Figure 23.20
light A silicon solar cell.
P-type layer
(0.5 m)
1 mm N-type
RL
Another common usage of diode semiconductor technology is in a light emitting diode,

or LED. These are unidirectional current-carrying devices based on the light emitting prop-
erties of a PN junction. Electrons give up energy as they recombine with holes in the semi-
conductor crystal lattice, and in certain types of doped semiconductors this energy Figure 23.21
A light emitting diode LED.
is released as light of characteristic wavelengths (Figure 23.21). If the semiconductor is
gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP), then the junction emits red light, but if the material
gallium phosphide (GaP) is used then yellow or green light is produced. A blue emitting LED
is based on silicon carbide. A typical red LED requires about 10 mA at a forward voltage bias 330
of 2 V and has a very low PIV of only 5 V or so. 10 mA
A diode can also be used to detect light. The reverse current of a PN junction can be
increased if the junction is open to incident light photons. A photo diode is constructed so
+
that its junction is illuminated from a lens assembly attached to the top of the diode body. 5V
Phototransistors are an improvement on the basic design of a photo diode and will be further
discussed in the next chapter.
A very useful diode type is actually designed to work in continuous reverse bias mode and
is called the zener diode (Figure 23.22). These devices are often used as voltage reference
sources in power supply and rectification circuits. If a zener diode is forward biased it
Figure 23.22
R A zener diode regulator.
+
unregulated 6.8 V output symbol
12 V DC input 6.8 regulated

reversed bias

conducts as normal, but it will also conduct when it is connected in reverse bias mode. Zener
diodes are designed to conduct in reverse bias over a range from about 2 volts up to several
hundred volts. When a zener diode conducts in reverse bias, the voltage drop across the device
remains almost constant even when there are wide variations in the current flowing through
it. It is this property that makes it useful as a voltage regulator. Note that even a zener diode
has a maximum reverse current that it can handle, this being dependent on its power rating.
Finally, note that two further transducers are often used in electronic circuits:
The thermistor, which is a resistor whose resistance decreases considerably with
temperature increase and thus can be used to indicate temperature changes electrically.
The light dependent resistor (LDR), whose resistance decreases considerably when
it is illuminated by light and thus can be used to indicate light level changes
electrically. Sometimes this device is called a photocell.
Activity 23.3 DIODE RESEARCH

A multitude of semiconductor devices related to the simple PN diode are used in
electronics. It should be possible for you to find research material from the library on
the following devices and present a short verbal report to your class colleagues on their
physical and electronic characteristics:
1 High speed switching or Schottky diodes.
2 Varactors or varicap diodes.
3 Solid state radiation detectors.
4 Laser diodes as used in CD players.
5 Infrared (GaS) diode emitters and detectors.
6 Humidity sensors as used in video cassette recorders.
A C R E C T I F I C AT I O N 23.6
Using the properties of components so far discussed in this chapter, it is now possible to con-
struct an operating circuit that efficiently converts AC voltages to DC voltages. This process
is called rectification. The derivation of this word is from the Latin rectus, meaning straight,
which describes exactly what the process does to an AC waveform; it straightens it out. The
circuit is one of the commonest blocks in any electronic device, especially if the device needs
to be operated from the 240 V AC mains. In most power supply units a transformer involving
inductor coils steps down the AC voltages from mains 240 VRMS to a much lower value, say,
20 VRMS. You may need to refer to Chapter 26 for the underlying physics of these devices.
A rectifying circuit is then used to convert the low voltage AC to a DC voltage. Lets see how
this is done.
Half-wave rectifiers
Figure 23.23
Half-wave rectifier circuit. Vout
AC Vin RL
Vp Vp
+ + + +
t t

Vin Vout
Electronics 519
The diode in the circuit (Figure 23.23) will only conduct when the input sine wave is positive
and above 0.7 V in amplitude. It will not conduct when the input sine wave is negative
because the diode is in reverse bias. Hence, the voltage output waveform of the circuit is
referred to as half-wave rectified. If an oscilloscope (CRO) is used to observe this waveform
across the load resistor as shown, its amplitude peak will be:
V out = V in 0.7 V
Figure 23.24
Full-wave rectifiers Full-wave rectifier circuit.
Vp Vp
+ + + + +
Vout
AC Vin t t
RL
Vin Vout
The four diodes in the circuit shown in Figure 23.24 are arranged in a bridge formation and
are referred to as a full-wave rectifier. Full-wave rectification allows the output voltage to be
pulsed every half-cycle of the input AC waveform, as the diodes combine in pairs to allow
conduction through the load resistor during both positive and negative swings of the input
sine wave. Often in power supply design, the four diodes are constructed in one package,
with two AC terminals and two DC terminals. This package is called a diode bridge or a bridge
rectifier. Because two diodes are involved in each forward conduction cycle, the value in peak
amplitude of the output of a full-wave rectifier will be:
V out = V in 1.4 V
If a DC voltmeter were used at this time to measure the output voltage it would show the
average voltage, Vav, over two half-cycles, where:
V av = 2V out

Capacitor smoothing
The output waveforms of both half-wave and full-wave rectifier circuits still contain what is Figure 23.25
Effect of a smoothing capacitor.
called AC ripple or a variation in amplitude with time, and this requires filtering or smooth-
ing out with a large electrolytic capacitor, as shown in Figure 23.25. Recall that the time con- diode bridge
stant of a discharging capacitor will prevent it from losing charge quickly. This has the effect
of holding the voltage output from the rectifier at a high value from one rectified pulse to Vin +
another. If an oscilloscope is used to observe the output waveform with a large value + DC
(4001000 F) capacitor in place, then very little remaining AC ripple will be observed, RL

especially if the current drawn from the load resistor is small. The output of these circuits is

now smoothed DC because it remains constant over time. smoothing
electrolytic
Voltage regulators Vp
Even though the oscilloscope output waveform of the circuits above looks like smooth DC, we
still do not have a fully regulated DC power supply. The above circuits are not yet satisfac-
tory for electronic voltage supplies for the following reasons: t
If the load current increases, the voltage available from the transformer will decrease.
Temperature changes may cause the diodes in the bridge to vary the output voltage.

The mains voltage itself supplying the input transformer may vary, depending on
V O LTA G E R E G U L ATO R C H I P S
consumer demand and time of day or night.
The three terminal voltage What is needed is a fully regulated DC supply whose output voltage will remain constant
regulator chips in the 78XX and irrespective of these types of changes. The simplest alteration involves the use of a zener
79XX family make power supply diode, which will clamp the output voltage to a particular fixed value, such as 6.8 V. Integrated
construction simple. These chips
circuit voltage regulators are a more common device, and will be discussed in Chapter 31.
only require a filtered DC input
voltage. They have internal
current-limiting and thermal- Questions
shutdown under short-circuiting 10 What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic semiconduction?
conditions. A common example
11 Sketch a circuit that could be used to full-wave rectify an AC voltage of 12 VP.
is the 7812 positive 12 volt
What would be the DC output voltage of the circuit and how would the AC ripple
regulator chip in the TO-220
voltage remaining be reduced?
package.
12 Design a simple application circuit that might use an LDR as part of a voltage
common divider network controlling a small DC buzzer. The buzzer should go off when
ambient light levels fall to a certain point.
output
common
input Practice questions
top view
NOTE: Any questions in this set that involve silicon diode conduction will assume 0.7 V as the
forward voltage drop.
*13 Consider Figure 23.26, showing an AC waveform as displayed on an oscilloscope.
Determine (a) peak voltage VP; (b) peak to peak voltage VPP; (c) average voltage
Vav; (d) RMS voltage VRMS; (e) frequency of the AC wave.
Figure 23.26 AC wave form
For question 13.
2
Vertical deflection
at 10 V cm1 (cm)
0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 Time (s)

1
*14 If the alternating current as a function of time in an AC heating coil is given by

the expression I = 5.6 sin 120 t, what is (a) the peak current (IP); (b) the RMS
current; (c) the AC frequency?
*15 What colour bands would you expect to find on these resistors, assuming a four
band system of labelling?
(a) 120 5% (e) 1.5 k 10%
(b) 330 k 5% (f) 470 k 10%
(c) 5.6 M 5% (g) 1.8 M 10%
Figure 23.27 (d) 2.2 k 5% (h) 1.0 k 10%
For question 17. *16 Calculate the largest voltage that is possible across a 5.6 k resistor if it is
labelled as a 1 W type. What current is flowing through it at this voltage?
*17 The circuit of Figure 23.27 is set up. Determine the readings on the meters
S 5.6 k V1
shown in the circuit when switch S is closed.
*18 Explain the following terms as applied to DC circuits combining resistance,
10 V 8.2 k capacitance and inductive components: (a) voltage divider; (b) self-inductance;
V2
(c) dielectric; (d) millihenry; (e) microfarad; (f) filter; (g) RC time constant;
A (h) electrolytic.
Electronics 521
*19 Why should electrolytic capacitors always be connected into the circuit with
great care when using DC power supplies?
*20 Determine the time constant for an RC series network where R = 100 k and
C = 470 F. If the applied DC voltage in the network is 9 V, how long will it take
for the capacitor to be fully charged and at this point what energy is stored in
this component?
*21 Explain, using diagrams where necessary, the following terms applying to
semiconductor action in electronics:
(a) N-type doping, and majority and minority charge carriers.
(b) Barrier potential in a silicon diode.
(c) Diode rectification of an AC waveform.
(d) Zener diode regulator.
**22 A silicon-based PN junction diode is forward biased and carrying a current of
4.5 A. What power is it dissipating?
**23 An AC wave of VPP = 15 V is fed through an unfiltered full-wave rectifier circuit.
What would be the peak output voltage and what reading would be indicated by
a DC voltmeter at the rectified output if it in fact reads an average value?
*24 What effect would decreasing the output load resistance have on the ripple
voltage of a capacitor-filtered full-wave bridge rectifier circuit?
*25 List some of the practical application devices in electronics that make use of PN
junction semiconductor technology. Give a typical use for each of your applications.
**26 The circuit of Figure 23.28 is set up and includes a rectifying diode.
(a) Sketch the waveforms expected at the points labelled A and B in this circuit
as displayed on an oscilloscope with vertical amplification set to 5 V cm1.
(b) Describe how these waveforms would alter if a 470 F capacitor was
connected in parallel with the 1.2 k resistor.
A Figure 23.28
B For question 26.
9 VRMS
50 Hz 1.2 k
**27 A student uses the circuit of Figure 23.29 to obtain the data table below. Plot an
IV curve from the data.
I (mA) 0 0 0.1 4 16 40
V (V) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8
(a) What type of semiconductor device is the circuit element X?

(b) What is the switch-on voltage for this device?
(c) What is the resistance of the device at a voltage of 1.0 V?
(d) What current flows if the device is reverse biased by a voltage of 0.8 V?
Figure 23.29
For question 27.
X
mA
VDC R
V
**28 Draw a circuit to rectify, smooth and regulate the output voltage from a step-down
transformer. Incorporate in your circuit diagram a bridge rectifier, a smoothing
capacitor, a zener diode and stabilising load resistance connected across the
output. Sketch the output voltage waveform expected from your circuit.


Figure 23.30 ***29 Consider the timing circuit of Figure 23.30. Given R = 2.0 k and C = 10 F,
For question 29. (a) calculate the time constant of the circuit if switch S1 is closed;
S1 (b) calculate what happens if another similar capacitor is placed in series with C;
(c) if S1 is opened and S2 is closed, describe the current flow in this circuit;
(d) explain why switches S1 and S2 should not be closed at the same time.
R S2
VDC ***30 Analyse the zener diode stabiliser circuit of Figure 23.31.
C (a) State a relationship between I, IL and IZ.
(b) State a relationship between Vin, VR and VZ.
(c) Derive an expression for R in terms of Vin, VZ, IZ and IL.
Figure 23.31 (d) Calculate the maximum power dissipated by the 8.2 V zener diode.
For question 30.
(e) What is the load current, IL, when the zener current IZ = 3 mA?
R = 1 k I IL (f) What value of R is needed if IL is to be 10 mA with IZ = 3 mA?
***31 Capacitors of 5.0 pF and 20.0 pF respectively are charged so that the respective
VR IZ
Vin = potential differences between their plates is 200 V and 300 V. They are then
15.2 V 8.2 V RL Vout
connected in parallel maintaining correct charge polarity. Calculate:
(a) the new charge on each capacitor; (b) the common potential difference
between plates; (c) the energy dissipated during charge rearrangement.
***32 Light-dependent resistors have a resistance that changes in proportion to the
amount of light falling on their windowed surface. The resistance of such a
light-dependent resistor was measured over a range of light intensities and the
following tabulated data values obtained:
Light intensity in candela (cd) 100 200 300 350 400 500 600 800
Resistance (M) 540 480 410 380 350 290 230 100
Graph these data and develop a conversion formula from resistance to light
intensity.
Photo 23.7
Complex electronic circuit system
involving components discussed in
Chapters 23 and 24.
Electronics 523
CHAPTER 24
Electronic Systems
24.1 INTRODUCTION
Semiconductor devices are able to do much more than rectify AC voltages. When semi-
conductors replaced the older vacuum-tube valve devices in electronic applications, the
circuits were termed transistorised or miniaturised since the transistors were so robust and
small compared with the delicate and bulky thermionic vacuum-tube valves that had been the
mainstay of electronics until then. It has been said that if the car industry progressed at the
same rate as the electronics industry, a Rolls Royce would be the size of a matchbox, cost fifty
cents and get a million kilometres per litre!
In this chapter we will look at the development of electronic systems involving input
output transducers such as microphones, loudspeakers and motors as well as transistors and
integrated circuits (ICs). The resistance of semiconductor material is dependent on the level
of impurity doping. The capacitance of a reverse bias PN diode is altered by the voltage
applied to the baseemitter junction of a transistor. These properties make it possible to
combine arrays of resistors, capacitors and transistors onto a single piece (or chip) of silicon,
which ultimately becomes an integrated circuit. These ICs can be mass-produced to accom-
plish any desired electronic function. Today, there exist hundreds of integrated circuit
families. Very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits and very high speed integration (VHSI)
circuits in recent years have seen tremendous improvements in device reliability, performance
speed and lowering of cost within electronic systems such as audio, video, telephone and
computer technology. There is hardly a domestic or industrial machine existing today that is
not, in part at least, an electronic system.
In 1969 the American corporation Intel developed a range of medium-sized ICs for use in
hand-held calculators. An Intel engineer, Edward Hoff, realised that it was simpler to design
a single-purpose IC for all calculators and to make this chip programmable so that it
could be controlled by a unique external chip containing a specific set of instructions. This
general-purpose chip was called a microprocessor, or single chip central processing unit
(CPU). The microprocessor has become the heart of many modern electronic systems. The chip
can perform a vast range of functions depending on the external instructions given to it. The
modern personal computer is nothing more than a microprocessor joined to an array of
external chips such as memory and the basic inputoutput system as well as keyboard input
and video output circuitry.
24.2 INPUTOUTPUT TRANSDUCERS

To produce the control functions carried out by circuits in electronics, electrical signals (the
actual voltages and currents), usually, are manipulated by components in various ways.
Electrical information is obtained as voltages and currents from the input to a particular
circuit or circuit system. For example, a radio receives small electrical voltages (a radio

signal) from the input antenna, or a public address system uses an input signal produced by
a microphone. The circuit performs some function such as amplification and this new
electrical information is available to the electronic system output. This output may be a loud-
speaker or a visual display such as an LED array or a video screen. An electronic system allows
us to control electrical information and usually allows several stages of electrical energy
conversions to take place. Thus, an electronic system consists of a defined set of blocks of
circuitry, as shown in Figure 24.1. This is called a schematic or an electronic block diagram.
Figure 24.1
Block diagram of an electronic input electrical circuit electrical output
input output
system. function
signal transducer signal signal transducer signal
system
voice amplifier sound

block
microphone loudspeaker
Ta b l e 2 4 . 1 T R A N S D U C E R S I N E L E C T R O N I C S
INPUT TRANSDUCERS OUTPUT TRANSDUCERS
Microphone loudspeaker
Antenna light bulb
Thermocouple LED and display
Photocell relay coil
LDR electric motor
Thermistor cathode ray tube
Laser diode audiovideo heads
Transducers are devices that convert energy from one form to another in electronic sys-
Figure 24.2 tems, usually involving electrical energy. Table 24.1 lists commonly used input and output
Electrical signals: analog (a);
digital (b).
transducers in electronics. Occasionally an input transducer can be the same as an output
transducer. For example, in some simple intercom systems the loudspeaker can be both the
(a) input microphone as well as the output speaker, although, of course, not at the same time.
For instance, the two functions may be controlled by a push-to-talk switch.
+
Analog to digital conversion (ADC)

Voltage
0
Electronics is concerned with the control of electrical signals that carry information to devices
that interpret the signals and perform a particular function. Block diagrams are often used to

get an overall picture of the various functions performed within the system as a result of the
Time (s) electrical signals being interpreted. Two types of electrical signals are commonly found in
(b) modern electronic systems. These are analog or continuously varying electrical voltage
signals, and digital or electrical voltage signals that are either ON or OFF. If a digital signal
+ is ON it means that the voltage level is high or equal to the circuit supply voltage whereas if
ON high a digital signal is OFF then the voltage level is low or at zero volts.
Voltage
Figure 24.2 illustrates the nature of these two different types of signals graphically.
Analog signals are widely used in audio, video and television systems, while digital
signals are used in computers and microprocessor- or microcontroller-based consumer devices.
OFF low
Digital electronics is a well-established field, with many older analog devices now phased out
Time (s) and replaced by digital processing; examples include the digital DVD and audio CD revolution,
Electronic Systems 525

and mobile phone technology. Underlying these processes is a technique called analog to
digital conversion or ADC. The reverse process, digital to analog conversion or DAC, is equally
important.
The input to an ADC consists of a voltage that varies among a theoretically infinite num-
ber of values. Examples are sine waves, the waveforms representing human speech, and the
signals from a conventional television camera. The output of the ADC has defined levels or
states. The number of states is almost always a power of two that is, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. The
simplest digital signals have only two states and are called binary. All whole numbers can be
represented in binary form as strings of ones and zeros.
Information is stored in a computer as groups of bits. A bit stands for a binary digit,
0 or 1. The only practical way of representing these two states in an electronic circuit such
as a computer is to use two-state logic, or ON and OFF. OFF represents logic 0, and ON
represents logic 1. In electrical terms, for most digital logic circuits, 0 volts represents logic
0 and 5 volts represents logic 1. Due to the ever-decreasing power consumption and increas-
ing speed of modern digital circuits, the logic 1 voltage is decreasing to around 3 volts. In
general, microprocessors use bits in groups of eight, which are called bytes. Groups of four
bits are also used, and these are called nibbles. There are two nibbles in a byte.
The maximum number that a single byte can hold equals 255, and there are 256 differ-
ent combinations of binary numbers, including zero, that can be represented. In the binary
system, each binary digit or bit represents a power of 2. In the decimal number system, each
digit represents a power of 10.
Example. 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 in binary (from right to left) represents;
1 20 = 1 1 = 1
0 21 = 0 2 = 0
1 22 = 1 4 = 4
1 23 = 1 8 = 8
Add these up to get a decimal equivalent 1 + 0 + 4 + 8 = 13.
In the hexadecimal system, which is used in coding or programming computers, each
digit represents a power of 16. There are no numbers past the digit 9, so the letters A to F are
used to represent the digits 10 to 15.
Example: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F These hex digits fit very nicely into a nibble.
0 = 0000 = 0 decimal
1 = 0001 = 1 decimal
2 = 0010 = 2 decimal, etc.
down to the hexadecimal value
F = 1111 = 15 decimal.
As two nibbles fit into a byte, there are also two hexadecimal numbers that fit into a
byte. It becomes easy to break down large binary numbers into more something more manage-
able by splitting them into nibbles and into hexadecimal numbers.
Lets take a quick look at the process of ADC. Refer back to the section of Chapter 16 on
modern sound technology (Section 16.10) for audio digital devices that make use of ADC. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
In analog technology a simple waveform is recorded and used in its original form. For
It is said that there are 10
example, in a cassette tape recorder the varying voltage wave output from a microphone is
types of people in the world:
applied directly through the magnetic recording head onto the magnetic tape. (Refer to
those who understand binary
Section 25.4.) The pickup head takes the analog signal back off the tape and sends it to the
and those who dont. Explain.
amplifier and speakers. Typical audio frequencies range from about 20 Hz up to about 20 kHz,
which represents the music fidelity.
In digital technology a process of sampling the analog wave at a fixed interval is used.
The amplitude of the sampled wave section produces a voltage that is converted into a
number that is stored in the digital device such as a music or data CD. The sampling rate used
in normal music CD recorders is 44.1 kHz or 44 100 numbers per second of music, while that
used in DVD audio discs is 192 kHz. When an ADC sampling recording is made, engineers have
control over two factors (Refer to Figure 24.3.):
the sampling rate how many samples are taken per unit time
the sampling precision the number of different gradations in amplitude that are
used when sampling.

(a) (b)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
(b)
number output = 786410012245677
9
8
Figure 24.3 You can see that in this diagram the horizontal time base might represent blocks at every
Analog to digital conversion (ADC): one-thousandth of a second with an amplitude precision of 10 units. The shaded rectangles
(a) original analog waveform;
(b) sampled digital waveform.
represent samples, with the ADC looking at the wave and assigning a closest decimal number
value of between 1 and 9. These decimal numbers are converted to binary form. The ADC thus
outputs a string of numbers in succession (a digital word) and produces a digital waveform
with an obvious sampling error compared to the original analog waveform. However, as the
sampling rate and precision increases (the number of shaded rectangles increases dramati-
cally), the difference between the digital and analog waveforms reduces to nothing. In fact
digital waveforms at high sampling rates are at a much higher fidelity.
The actual binary output from the ADC chip can be produced by a variety of electronic
methods. The successive-approximation ADC is one of the most commonly used designs. This
requires only a single comparator but will be only as good as the DAC used in the circuit.
Figure 24.4 Figure 24.4 is the block diagram of an 8-bit successive-approximation ADC. The analog
ADC chip block diagram. output of a high-speed DAC is compared against the analog input signal. The digital result
of the comparison is used to control the contents of a digital buffer that both drives the DAC
+
Vin
C and provides the digital output word. As examples in 8-bit binary the decimal 7 = 00000111,
_
5 = 0000101, 2 = 0000010. You might like to check some websites that show you how to
convert between decimal and binary. Note that modern digital ADC and DAC chips can have
analog output
resolutions up to 18 bits and sampling rates up to 1.5 GHz.
Vref DAC
High sampling rates and precisions produce large amounts of digital data in the form
digital inputs
of number strings. On a CD, digital numbers are stored by the ADC as word bytes and it takes
2 bytes to represent 65 536 amplitude precision gradations or sample. On a normal stereo
start register
(2-channel) music CD which may hold up to 74 minutes of music data there will be about
conversion
control logic
high/low 780 megabytes of digital number storage. You should test this by doing the calculations
conversion
output buffer
2 bytes per sample at 44.1 kHz for 74 minutes!
complete
clock The surface of a CD contains one long spiral track of data, which may be up to 5.0 km
long. This track is made up of flat laser-light-reflective areas representing digital binary 1, as
well as non-reflective bumps representing digital binary 0. This pattern of 1s and 0s is read
by the scanning laser head and back-converted by the DAC, first into the digital waveform
representing the original precision graduations at the sampling rate, and finally into the
analog waveform.
One of the best advantages of digital recording is that the quality does not deteriorate over
time like magnetic analog recordings. As long as the laser head can read the number string the
information can be decoded. Today error correction techniques as well as number group com-
pression techniques have allowed a tremendous amount of material to be recorded onto a disc.
This is evident in multi-layer DVDs which can contain many hours of compressed audio and
video information using MPEG technology. Many channels of digital audio are possible to give
a finely tuned sound field from multiple speaker systems. Again refer to Section 16.10.
Let us now look at the basic electronic devices that underlie both analog and digital
electronic processing systems. After all, to begin to understand complex systems, we need to
be able to break them down into their component parts.

24.3 T R A N S I S TO R S
The transistor is one of the most useful devices in electronics. The transistor, just like diodes, Photo 24.1
can change the form of electrical signals it receives and is therefore called an active device. Various transistors.
The first transistor was developed by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at
the American Bell laboratories in New Jersey in 1947. This solid state device transferred a
current across a high-resistance material, so they called it a transfer-resistor or transistor for
short. This first point-contact transistor device had several limitations, including noisy ampli-
fication, low power handling capability and limited applicability because of its delicacy.
William Shockley had also conceived the idea of the junction transistor, which was free of
many of these defects and limitations. Today, most transistors are made of the junction type.
Although they are being replaced in circuitry blocks by integrated circuits, the transistor is
still essential in many applications and is manufactured in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Transistor structure
A bipolar junction transistor consists of two PN junctions joined together, as shown in
Figure 24.5. This is a bit like two diodes placed back to back. You might like to refer back to
Chapter 23 for revision of semiconductor diodes. Two basic types are possible and illustrated Figure 24.5
Transistors: NPN (a); PNP (b).
as PNP or NPN, together with their symbols showing the direction of conventional current
flow through the device. The transistor is called a bipolar device because current flows (a) NPN
through the transistor using two different modes. In N-type silicon, current flows as mostly collector
electrons, while in P-type silicon, current flows as holes. The three layers of the transistor are: (C)
collector (C), which in the case of an NPN-type is constructed as a lightly doped N

C
N-type silicon layer base
(B) P
base (B), which is a very thin layer of lightly doped P-type silicon B
emitter (E), which is a heavily doped N-type silicon layer. E
N
Notice the difference in the thickness of these layers from those of standard diodes. The
transistor device is called bipolar because both majority and minority charge carriers are used emitter
during conduction. In general, the analysis of an NPN transistor in terms of current flow and (E)
bias voltage conditions can be reversed for a similar analysis of a PNP transistor. It is com-
(b) PNP
mon in analysing the operation of a transistor to discuss a flow of electron current through collector
the device; however, this is always precisely opposite to normal conventional current flow, (C)
which is used in most diagrams. Figure 24.6 shows the typical structure of an actual transis- P
tor constructed using a crystal of silicon on which layers are formed in a process called the base C
planar epitaxial technique. The centre layer of a transistor, called the base, is always thinner (B) N
B
than the outer emitter and collector layers. This is essential for the correct operation of E
the transistor and is the reason why two simple PN diodes cannot be used back to back to P
produce the same effect as a transistor in circuits.
emitter
In any practical transistor package, the very small piece of semiconductor is usually pro- (E)
tected in an epoxy plastic housing and three connecting wire pigtails or pins are attached
to the three terminals, C, B and E. Manufacturers provide transistor pin-out diagrams to
enable electrical connections to be correctly made to different types of transistor packages
such as the common TO-92 pack, TO-220 pack and the TO-3 pack. It is important that correct Figure 24.6
pin connections are made in transistor circuits, as damage can easily occur if the power Transistor construction in cross-section.
supply connections are reversed, for instance. You can refer to various electronics component base emitter
catalogues for examples of these pin-out diagrams. silicon
dioxide
Transistors are used in electronic circuits in three ways, basically: protective
N (emitter)
P (base)
as direct current (DC) amplifiers layer
N (collector)
as fast acting electronic switches substrate
as AC voltage amplifiers.
collector connection
We will now examine the first two of these ways, together with some practical circuit appli- through substrate
cations; the AC voltage amplifier will be left to Chapter 31.

Figure 24.7
Transistor current amplifier: at Direct current (DC) amplifiers
switch-on and equilibrium (a); using
base bias (b). Let us consider what happens when an NPN transistor is connected into a circuit, such as in
Figure 24.7(a). When the voltage is applied free electrons in the N regions will tend to move
(a) At switch-on and equilibrium
from emitter to collector and free holes in the P region will move towards the emitter. These

few holes moving against the electrons will be filled in by electrons in a short time and will
C cease to exist. This produces an effective potential barrier at the base layer and will stop any

further current flow. In order to allow electron current to continue to flow from emitter to
N
collector, the base layer requires a positive voltage. (See Figure 24.7(b).) When this positive
B + + + base voltage rises above 0.6 V, majority charge carriers begin to cross the emitterbase junc-
P
tion. Because the base is only lightly doped while the emitter is heavily doped, there will be
N

many more electrons coming from the emitter than there will be holes coming from the base.
E Also, because the base region is very thin and lightly doped, most of the electrons avoid
falling into holes in the base region. A continuous flow of electrons through the device is
established by maintaining a positive voltage of 0.6 V at the base. Thus, electrons are
emitted from the emitter layer and collected by the collector layer. Typically, only about 1%
of the emitted electrons will fall into holes generated by the positive base and constitute the
C
base current, IB, while the remaining 99% of electrons pass from the emitter to the collector

to form the collector current, IC. Thus, the collector current is 99 times the base current and
+ the transistor has produced direct current amplification.
B The ratio of the collector current to the base current is known as the current amplification
factor or current gain of the transistor and is denoted by the symbol (Greek letter beta) or

hfe. It varies for different transistors but usually lies in the range between 20 and 800.
E
no current = h fe = I C
transistor OFF
IB
(b) Using base bias Since small variations in base current are controlling larger variations in collector current,
the transistor circuit involving base and emitter is often called the control circuit and the

collectoremitter circuit is called the working circuit. If the baseemitter junction is
C
forward biased, current will pass through both control and working circuits as long as the

collector is positive with respect to the emitter. Small changes in the base current can
B + produce large changes in the working current (NPN current amplification).
+ +
Figure 24.8 illustrates an actual test circuit that may be used to show current amplifica-
+ tion by measuring IB and IC. Note that a voltage divider potentiometer is used to control

0.6 V baseemitter forward bias. The graph of output data IC versus IB can be used to derive the
E
current gain, , of the device being tested. Note also that a collector resistor is used in the
circuit, which limits the maximum size of the collector current in order not to overheat and
transistor ON destroy the transistor.
base current
Figure 24.8
IC mA
Collector current, IC (mA)
Testing current gain, .

15
220
+
Rb IB C
10 V
100
B 10
A
10 k
E
BC548
5
V
50 100 150
Base current, IB (A)

A special type of transistor designed for high power levels and high current gain is called T R A N S I S TO R O U T L I N E S
the darlington. It is essentially two bipolar transistors back to back on the same piece of B OT TO M V I E W
silicon. The darlington pair has a switch-on voltage of about double that of a normal
transistor, a DC gain value of about 1000, and if necessary can be made to handle up to about B
T0-1
5 A of current.
Example
E C
Consider the circuit and graph of Figure 24.8.
(a) What voltage should register on the baseemitter voltmeter when a small
collector current IC begins to be measured?
T0-92 VAR.1
(b) Use the graph of data supplied to calculate the current gain of the BC548
transistor in this circuit. B
Solution E C
(a) Milliammeter, IC, will not show any working current until VBE reads at least 0.6 V
as this is the switch-on voltage for the transistor. BC548
(b) = I C = 15 mA = 100
I B 150 A
The current gain has a value of 100.
Transistor switches
+9 V Figure 24.9
Transistor switch action.
lamp OFF
9V
lamp
Volts, VC
C
1 k lamp
R brighter
B
E VC
VB
T R A N S I S TO R O U T L I N E S
FRONT VIEW
lamp ON
0.25 0.5 0.6 0.75 1.0
Volts, VB T0-127
The switching action of a transistor is produced by varying the voltage applied to the base so
that the transistor is either turned ON (large collectoremitter current flowing) or turned OFF
(no collectoremitter current flowing). Consider the circuit of Figure 24.9, showing a lamp in
the working circuit. A potentiometer voltage divider is used to control and vary the voltage
applied to the transistors base. VB and VC are the voltages as measured at the base and collec-
tor with respect to the earth. The graph shows how the lamps brightness is controlled as the E C B
potentiometer is varied. The analysis is as follows. T0-220
As the base voltage rises from zero, the lamp remains off, because the collector voltage
is at 9 V so there is no potential difference across the lamp. The transistor is said to be turned
OFF. It acts like an open switch (collectoremitter path). When the base voltage reaches 0.6 V
(for a silicon transistor), the base current turns the transistor ON and it starts conducting. It
takes only a small rise in base voltage, to about 0.75 V, until the transistor is fully ON or fully
conducting. The transistor has a very low collectoremitter path resistance and it acts like a
closed switch. The transistors collector is now at a very low voltage, hence the full 9 V is
B C E
applied across the lamp. It is turned ON and produces full brightness. Lowering the base
voltage to below 0.6 V will turn the lamp off again.
Lets look at three more practical circuits making use of switching action.

Figure 24.10 shows an LDR or light dependent resistor controlling the base voltage. In
bright light conditions the LDR has a low resistance, which means that the base voltage is
held low, the transistor is OFF, its collector voltage is high and the lamp is turned off. In
dark conditions the LDR has a high resistance, which means that the base voltage is held
high, the transistor is ON and conducts, causing the collector voltage to go low and the
large potential difference across the lamp causes it to switch on.
Figure 24.10
LDR switching circuit automatic
light switch. lamp
5.6 k
BC108 C
+
6V
B
E
ORP12
LDR
Figure 24.11 shows a transistor switching an LED as a result of two circuit points being
connected together with a resistance such as human skin. If a small base current is
produced by holding the probes with opposite hands, the transistor is correctly biased
and it switches on. This allows a collectoremitter current to flow through the LED
and it illuminates. The LED will turn off again if the touch probes are released,
because of the open circuit or very high resistance between collector and base.
560
Figure 24.11
Transistor touch switch.
probes
+
BC548 12 V

1 M LED
Figure 24.12 is a light-controlled high current switch, which might be used as a

burglar alarm. The circuit contains both an LDR and a silicon controlled rectifier
(SCR) device or thyristor, which differs from a transistor in that it not only can carry
larger currents but once switched ON cannot be turned OFF by removing the voltage
at the base terminal or gate, G. This circuit would operate as an alarm by ensuring
that a bright light beam is shone onto the LDR, which would provide a low voltage
at the SCR gate to keep it turned OFF. This keeps the buzzer turned OFF because the
SCR anode is held high. If a burglar breaks the light beam, the LDR now has a high
resistance, causing the gate to trigger, or turn ON, the SCR, and the buzzer would
sound. The action of the SCR will keep the buzzer turned ON until such time as the
power supply is disconnected.
Figure 24.12 DC buzzer
Light controlled high current C106Y (SCR)
switch (SCR). metal
B 330
22 k chamfer
A +
6V
SCR
G K KAG
Pinout:
K = cathode
LDR A = anode
G = gate

Activity 24.1 CHANGING THE CIRCUITS

Consider how to modify the circuits already presented to do slightly different jobs. For
instance, how would you modify the following circuits?
1 Modify the circuit of Figure 24.10 to trigger when a light is turned ON rather
than OFF, as, for example, in a circuit to automatically turn on the garage lights
when the car is driven in at night.
2 Modify the circuit of Figure 24.12 to act as a fire alarm buzzer, using a
thermistor sensor.
Before leaving the various transistor circuits to look at other semiconductor devices, lets
consider the special type of transistor called a field effect transistor or FET. Remember that
in a junction transistor the base current is needed to remove excess electrons in the base
region to allow a larger working current to flow from collector to emitter. In some circuits
even this small base current can provide difficulties. Consider Figure 24.13. In the FET device
a current flowing from the drain (collector) through the channel to the source (emitter) is
controlled by an electric field produced by charges present on the gate (base). Only an
extremely small electric field strength is necessary, provided by a very small gate current and
this produces an extremely high effective input resistance for the device. FETs are used in
amplifier circuits where large voltages are controlled by extremely small voltages at the gate.
Such a situation might arise when trying to amplify the very weak electrical signals produced
by the human body during muscle or nerve activity in medical diagnostic equipment such as
an electrocardiograph.
Figure 24.13
N-channel type Field effect transistor (FET)
N-channel type.
drain
D
D
G
gate
G P P S
N
S
source symbol
A c t i v i t y 2 4 . 2 S P E C I A L T R A N S I S TO R S
Transistor design has come a long way since the first bipolar junction type. Some further
types of transistor you might like to research and present a report on are listed below.
Find a common application circuit for each type:
1 Junction field effect transistor JFET. 2 MOSFET.
3 Power MOSFET. 4 Phototransistor MEL-12.

Questions
1 What is the difference between electronic analog and digital voltage signals?
Give an example of electronic systems that interpret voltages of both types.
2 Explain what is meant by each of the following terms: (a) P-type semiconductor;
(b) NPN transistor emitter; (c) NPN transistor base; (d) PNP transistor collector;
(e) current value IB.
3 An operating transistor has the following parameters: = 200, IB = 15 A. What
are the values of IC and IE?
4 Figure 24.14 shows the schematic diagram for an NPN transistor in normal operation.
(a) Redraw this diagram showing a normal symbol for the transistor.
Label E, B and C.
(b) Add the voltages X and Y, showing correct polarity.
(c) Show how the voltages X and Y can be obtained in practice from a single
supply voltage VCC.
Figure 24.14
For question 4.
N RL
RB
P
N
X Y
Figure 24.15
For question 6.
+6 V
5 Explain the operating conditions that are necessary to make a transistor function
as a switch.
6 In the circuit of Figure 24.15, the current gain of the transistor is 150. Calculate
RB = 220 k RC = 1.2 k
the value of the base current and the output DC voltage at the collector. Use the
C value VBE = 0.7 V.
Vout 7 Figure 24.16 shows graphically the collector characteristics IC/VCE for a particular
B E transistor. Calculate the transistors current gain, , when the base current is
0V 2.5 mA and the collectoremitter voltage is 3.0 V.
6 mA
600 5 mA
Figure 24.16
For question 7.
500
400 4 mA
Ic (mA)
300 3 mA
200 2 mA
100 IB = 1 mA
1 2 3 4 5
VCE (V)
Collector characteristics

24.4 I N T E G R AT E D C I R C U I T S
During the 1960s and 1970s advancements in semiconductor technology made it possible to
combine larger numbers of active devices like transistors and diodes, as well as other passive
components, onto a silicon chip. It has become possible to produce complete functional
system circuits, involving both analog and digital processes, within a single integrated circuit
package. The original integrated circuit concept was presented to engineers at an Institute
of Radio Engineers symposium in Washington DC on 5 May 1952 in a paper by G. W. Drummer
entitled Electronic components in Great Britain. In this paper he stated:
At this stage, I would like to take a peep into the future. With the advent of the transistor and the
work into semiconductors generally, it seems now possible to envisage electronic equipment in
a solid block with no connecting wires. The block may consist of layers of insulating, conducting,
rectifying and amplifying materials, the electrical functions being connected directly by cutting out
areas of the various layers.
The first microelectronics integrated circuit patent was filed on 6 February 1959 to a P H Y S I C S U P DAT E
J. S. Kilby as US Patent No. 3,138,743, with the following statement: Ever since 1999 the microchip
It is therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a novel miniaturised electronic giant IBM has continually
circuit fabricated from the body of semiconductor material containing a diffused PN junction perfected new forms of
wherein all components of the electronic circuit are completely integrated into the body of silicongermanium chip
semiconductor material. processing technology. This
technology involves the use of
Such integrated circuit (IC) packages represent the miniaturisation of electronics a combination of germanium
with consequent increase in speed and reliability of operation, as well as an overall massive atoms embedded in a silicon
reduction in costs of manufacture. An integrated circuit package may contain the equivalent substrate, allowing much faster
of thousands of transistors and the most common method of construction is similar to the current conduction through the
silicon planar method described for transistors. The IC fabrication technique is very complex crystal and much smaller chip
and expensive as it involves etching layers of semiconductor, multiple photographic size. The heart of IBMs SiGe
exposure through light-resistive masks and numerous steps of subsequent metallic vacuum technology is a heterojunction
deposition to form the transistor blocks and conducting pathways. It is important to realise bipolar transistor (HBT) doped
with germanium to increase the
that integrated circuits have been the single most important factor in the development of
electron transfer.
modern electronic systems.
Todays 2 GHz microprocessors
Integrated circuits are mass-produced with variations in the type of basic transistor build- could be boosted to 50 GHz
ing elements within the chip design itself. These types are commonly referred to as or more using the latest
integrated circuit series, such as the 74 series TTL chips and the 74LS series low power silicongermanium technology.
Schottky chips, both requiring power supply voltages of 5 V. More versatile are the 74C series With over 1000 microelectronic
CMOS chips (315 V), the 74HC series high speed CMOS chips (26 V) and the 4000 series patents in 2002 alone, IBM
CMOS chips (315 V). All these CMOS chips involve metal oxide semiconductor material and offers a range of industry-
use field effect transistor (FET) construction. A disadvantage of all CMOS type ICs is that they standard CMOS, RFCMOS, and
are easily damaged by stray electrostatic charge and therefore must usually be handled silicongermanium Bi-CMOS
taking special precautions. process technologies ranging
in transistor size from 0.5 m
The only component that cannot be integrated onto a silicon chip IC package is the
to 90 nm. Uses for the latest
electromagnet coil or inductor. Inductors need to be added externally to the chip in circuit
SiGe devices include wireless
construction, although it is possible to simulate their behaviour with a combination of Bluetooth component chips,
passive capacitors and other active devices. wireless LAN and global
Integrated circuits generally fall into two categories, analog IC or linear IC devices, and positioning systems chips,
digital IC devices. Analog ICs are used for processing analog voltage signals by such opera- multi-action mobile telephone
tions as amplifying, adding, multiplying, filtering and other more complex functions. The systems, and optical networking
input and output voltages of these devices can have any value between the power supply components.
voltages driving the device and there is a direct or linear functional relationship between the
input and the output. Digital ICs are used to process binary signals where the input and out-
put voltages of the device exist at only two states, called ON and OFF, or HIGH and LOW.
Binary voltage states are often represented mathematically as a 1 or a 0: 1 = HIGH (ON);
0 = LOW (OFF).

The transistor operation underlying these digital ICs is a rapid switching action as
described in the previous section. Digital IC circuits usually require fewer external discrete
components than linear IC circuits and are tending in recent times to replace them in a lot of
electronic systems. These digital IC application circuits will be discussed in more detail in
Chapter 31.
Once the integrated circuit is fabricated, it can be encapsulated into a protective cover
and connecting pins added so that it may be connected into a circuit with appropriate exter-
nal components such as resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors. A very common IC pack-
age is the dual in line (DIL) type. It was first fostered by Bryant Rogers as a dual in-line
package (DIP) while at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1964. This type uses an epoxy plastic case
with the IC chip embedded in it and two sets of parallel pins down each long side of the IC.
Usually DIL packages contain 8, 14 or 16 pins. Manufacturers provide detailed drawings
(schematics) and IC pin diagrams that show, most importantly, the power supply pins and
other inputoutput pins. The pins on an IC are usually numbered consecutively anticlockwise,
starting with pin 1 at the top lefthand corner when viewing from above the top of the IC.
Photo 24.2 illustrates the IC package and its pins lying ready to be inserted into a circuit
building protoboard.
Linear devices and application circuits

Photo 24.2 Linear integrated circuits include the voltage regulator IC family, which may form the basis of
An IC ready to be inserted into a both positive and negative power supply designs. These are discussed in more detail in
protoboard.
Chapter 31. Two other important types of linear integrated circuits are the operational
amplifiers (Op-Amps), which are used in audio, video and medical electronics applications,
and the electronic timers used in timing and digital processing circuits. The simplest of these
circuits is discussed now, with further examples given in Chapter 31.
O p e r a t i o n a l a m p l i f i e r i n t e g r a t e d c i rc u i t s
An Op-Amp is a very high gain (amplification factor) voltage amplifier designed to amplify
signals over a wide frequency range. The AC signal frequency range over which an amplifier
produces equivalent amplification is called its bandwidth. Op-Amps have two input terminals:
the inverting input labelled and the non-inverting input labelled +. The device amplifies the
difference in voltage between these two inputs even if one of the inputs is earthed. They
usually operate from a dual polarity power supply, which means that the voltages needed
to operate the integrated circuit are, for example, +9 V and 0 V, as well as 9 V and 0 V
(Figure 24.17). In a lot of circuit diagrams the power supply connections to the integrated
circuits are not shown. Note that in this circuit:
if V2 is zero, then Vo = AvV1, where Av = voltage gain
if V1 is zero, then Vo = AvV2
if V1 is larger than V2, then the output is negative
if V1 = V2, then the output is zero.
+V
Figure 24.17 inverting
Operational amplifier. output
input
non-inverting
+
input
V V0
V1 V2
The voltage gain of the Op-Amp is dependent on the frequency of the signal input. The
amplifier gain decreases very quickly as the input frequency rises. An ideal Op-Amp has an
infinite voltage gain and an infinite input impedance as well as zero output impedance. The
concept of circuit impedance is effectively an AC or frequency dependent resistance.

Remember that these integrated circuits work with AC voltage signals and their input and out-
put resistance will vary with the frequency of the signal they are handling. You will come
across this concept again in Chapter 31 when dealing with AC behaviour of components and
devices.
If the Op-Amp was operated like this in practice, this very high voltage gain, which
is referred to as the amplifiers open-loop gain, would be in the order of 105106 times. As
well, the circuit input impedance would be approximately 10100 M. This would make the
amplifier circuit difficult to control. For this reason, these amplifiers are usually operated with
a feedback resistor, RF, from output to input. This has the effect of reducing voltage gain
and input impedance to a manageable level (Figure 24.18). In this circuit:
input impedance, Z in = R 1
and
voltage gain, A V = R F
R1
Figure 24.18
RF If R1 = 1 M Basic inverting amplifier with
+ RF = 10 M feedback.
Vin Vout
2 7 6 then Zin = 1 M
R1
4 AV = 10
+
3
Operational amplifiers are used to produce circuits whose functions may include waveform
generators, filters, amplifiers, adders or mixers, integrators and differentiators. One of the
most common Op-Amp devices is the 741 Op-Amp, which is manufactured either singly as an
8 pin DIL package or as a 14 pin DIL Quad Op-Amp package. It has a power dissipation of
310 mW and a temperature range of 070C. A typical application circuit for this device is the
inverting amplifier.
Using an Op-Amp as an inverting amplifier Refer to Figure 24.19. The most common
application of the Op-Amp is the inverting amplifier configuration that produces an amplified
output 180 out of phase with the input. This means that when the input signal is a
maximum amplitude the output signal is a minimum amplitude and vice versa. The closed
loop voltage gain for the circuit is given by:
A Cl = V O = R F = R 2
V in R R1
and the effective input impedance of the circuit is simply R1, as shown in Table 24.2.
Figure 24.19
R2 Inverting amplifier.
R1
2 6 output
741
3
R1R2
R1 + R2

CHIP PINOUT DIAGRAMS Ta b l e 2 4 . 2

8 pin DIL GAIN, A V R1 R2 BANDWIDTH R in
offset null 1 8 freq. comp. 1 10 k 10 k 1 MHz 10 k
in 2 7 V+ 10 1 k 10 k 100 kHz 1 k
in+ 3 + 6 out 100 1 k 100 k 10 kHz 1 k
V 4 5 offset null 1000 100 k 1000 k 1 kHz 100
top view 741
Example
8 pin DIL In the circuit of Figure 24.19, the operational amplifier circuit is constructed using R1 = 15 k
gnd 1 8 +V
and R2 = 500 k. Calculate:
trigger 2 7 discharge
(a) the closed loop voltage gain, AV;
output 3 6 threshold (b) the input impedance of the circuit;
reset 4 5 voltage control (c) the optimum value of the input pin 3 resistance to ground.
top view 555 Solution
R2 500 k
(a) Voltage gain AV = = = 33.3.
R1 15 k
(b) Input resistance is simply value of R1 = 15 k.
R1 R2 15 k 500 k
(c) Optimum value of resistance = R + R = = 14.6 k, or its nearest
1 2 515 k
preferred value of 15 k.
Other applications of the Op-Amp include circuits that act as waveform generators, adders
and comparators, and simple integrators. These are further discussed in Chapter 31.
Ti m e r i n t e g r a t e d c i rc u i t s
The 555 timer, produced by several manufacturers, is specifically designed for precision
timing circuits. It can also be used in digital multivibrator modes and as a Schmitt trigger.
The Schmitt trigger is a circuit that has the function of converting an analog frequency signal
to a digital frequency signal or restoring an electrically noisy digital signal to a very stable
and well formed noiseless digital signal. The 555 timer is also made in single or Quad DIL
packages. It can operate with supply voltages from 4.5 V to 16 V and can directly drive loads
such as relays, LEDs, low power amplifiers and high impedance speakers. Accurate timing
periods variable from a few microseconds to several hundred seconds can be produced
by using a square wave output controlled by external RC networks. Timing periods can be
started by a trigger signal and stopped using a reset signal. When used as a signal frequency
generator (astable mode) the device output can be varied simply using external capacitors
and resistors.
Figure 24.20 +5 V
555 square wave generator.
R1 = 1 k
output 4 8
3 7
f= 1.45
5 6 R2 = 6.8 k
(R1 + 2R2)C 1 2
0.01 F 0.1 F C
The circuit of Figure 24.20 is a simple square wave generator circuit, which could be used
as a circuit providing stable timing pulses. This circuit is often called a square wave clock.
The 555 timer is being used in its astable or free running multivibrator mode because it will
continue to produce a series of wave pulses as long as the power supply voltage is connected

to the chip. With the values shown in the figure, the frequency of the output is about
1.0 kHz. However, the output frequency is adjustable with either R1, R2 or C and is given by:
1.45
f=
(R 1 + 2R 2)C
+9V Figure 24.21

555 second interval clock.
3.9 M
4 8 Vout (1 Hz)
7
0.01 F 3
5.6 M 6
2 1
390
0.1 F
The circuit of Figure 24.21 is a similar clock using the 555 timer, but its output frequency
is only 1.0 Hz and thus it acts as a second counter. Again, the circuit is a free running or
astable multivibrator.
Questions
8 List the advantages of modern integrated circuit chips. Do they have any
disadvantages?
9 What is the circuit symbol for Op-Amp? Sketch the full circuit diagram for an
inverting amplifier whose voltage gain is 200, if an input resistor of 10 k is
used. What is the circuits effective input impedance?
10 Explain the difference between linear and digital ICs. Give two examples of
linear ICs.
11 Draw a diagram representing the output waveform of a 555 timer IC chip connected
into its astable mode of operation. How would you describe the waveform?
12 Sketch the input and output waveforms on a common set of axes for an Op-Amp
of gain 10 and input signal of 1 kHz. Consider an inverting mode of operation.
13 What is meant by the digital term binary levels? How do these binary levels
correspond to voltage levels in a digital IC circuit?
14 What is the difference in circuit usage between TTL, 74LS and CMOS digital IC chips?
15 What is the output frequency of a 555 timer IC circuit if the chip is connected as
in Figure 24.20 and components R1 = 15 k, R2 = 28 k, and C = 0.1 F?
Activity 24.3 LETS BUILD CIRCUITS

If you have access to circuit building boards especially designed for ICs, such as the
SK40 protoboards, then your teacher may supply you with some integrated circuits as
described in this chapter so that you can actually build some of the circuits. The simplest
circuit to build and get working is the 741 Op-Amp in its inverting mode. Remember to
always connect power supply voltages to the correct pins of the IC and connect the power
supply last of all.

M I C R O C O N T R O L L E R S A N D R O B OT I C S 24.5
One of the most important types of integrated circuits today is the microcontroller. In simple
terms a microcontroller is a specialist digital computer chip embedded inside a device or prod-
uct. The best examples of modern consumer devices that contain these chips are vehicle
engine controllers, TVs, VCRs and DVD players, digital cameras and mobile phones, refrigera-
tors, cooking ranges and washing machines. In fact any modern device that requires some sort
of input from its user is most likely to contain an embedded microcontroller chip somewhere
in its internal circuitry. These IC chips contain a CPU (central processing unit) and are usu-
ally programmed to perform a small range of tasks, or may even be dedicated to perform only
one prescribed task.
Typical microcontroller chips that you may encounter in your electronics course at school
include the PIC family from Microchip, the AVR family from Atmel, the BASIC STAMP con-
trollers by Parallax(which actually contain a PIC chip and are made to allow programming with
the BASIC language). You may also encounter the RCX Hitachi controller used in the Lego-
Mindstorms robotics kits. Each of these devices will have one or more of the following features:
a specific program set of tasks stored in ROM memory
programs that can be changed through programmable CMOS Flash and EEPROM memory
a dedicated set of inputoutput (I/O) structures that limit the need for external
components
very low power consumption, typically 50 mW
are housed inside rugged multipin DIP packages that allow for a wide variety of
physical operating conditions such as high temperature or acidic environments.
It is the dedicated I/O structure that is most the important feature of any microcontroller.
In the case of the television receiver controller, input signals via infrared beams are received
from the remote handset, and the microcontroller sends signals to its outputs which in turn
control processes such as picture quality, channel selection and speaker amplifier volume.
Outputs are also displayed on LCD panels which respond to inputs from an operator touchpad.
This type of microcontroller operation is commonplace in the kitchen or laundry. The proper
operation of a modern motor vehicle engine or its peripheral systems, such as ABS brakes or
air-bag safety, could not be done without complex microcontroller operation.
The actual microprocessor used in microcontroller chips can vary widely, but most are based
on similar processors that once formed the heart of personal computers, such as Z80, 80386,
80586 and Pentium processors. Lets now take a look at some of the types mentioned above.
AVR 8-Bit RISC chips

Atmels AVR microcontrollers have a RISC core running single-cycle instructions and a well-
defined I/O structure that limits the need for external components. Internal oscillators,
timers, UART, SPI, pull-up resistors, pulse width modulation, ADC, analog comparator and
watch-dog timers are some of the features you will find in AVR devices. AVR instructions are
tuned to decrease the size of the program whether the code is written in C or Assembly. With
on-chip in-system programmable Flash and EEPROM, the AVR is a perfect choice in order to
optimise cost and get products marketed quickly. The Atmel AVR is an 8-bit MCU with up to
128K of programmable Flash and EEPROM.
Ta b l e 2 4 . 3 AT M E L AV R s
AVR 8-BIT RISC MICROCONTROLLERS MEMORY CONFIGURATIONS (BYTES)
Processor Package Flash EEPROM RAM
tiny AVR 8-32 pin 1-2K up to 128 up to 128
low power AVR 8-44 pin 1-8K up to 512 up to 1K
megaAVR 32-64 pin 8-128K up to 4K up to 4K

Parallax BASIC Stamps

Named because of their size similarity to a postage stamp, these microcontrollers are made
in two forms, BS-1 and BS-2. They usually come on a small development board that is
powered from a 9 volt battery and can be connected to one of the ports on a PC so that it can
be programmed easily in BASIC. They are most often used in prototyping circuit and program
designs.
Ta b l e 2 4 . 4 BA S I C S TA M P S
BS-1 BS-2
RAM 14 bytes 26 bytes
EEPROM 256 bytes 2000 bytes
Max program length 75 instructions 600 instructions
I/O pin number 8 16
Execution speed 2000 lines/s 4000 lines/s
The power of any microcontroller lies within the programming language used to drive the
embedded program. In all cases a high-level language such as BASIC, PASCAL, C, a symbolic
icon-based language such as Lego RoboLAB or even JAVA can be used. The instructions N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
sequence (program) is then compiled into a form that the microcontroller will understand by There are many electronics
further computer software. This also allows it to be downloaded as machine code directly to stores, such as Dick Smith,
memory addresses in the microcontroller chip flash memory by way of the computers parallel Jaycar or Altonics, that market
communications port, either by direct cable or by infrared beam. Several well-known com- electronic construction kits
pilers and microcontroller programmer software are freely available on the Internet for a range using pre-programmed PIC chips.
of chips. The following listing shows some of the commands in the instruction set that is You may also be able to find
experimenters kits that actually
available for the BASIC STAMP.
allow programming of the chip
Standard BASIC commands: by connection to your computer.
for...next normal looping statements Also use the Internet to find
if...then normal decision making Australian companies marketing
let optional assignment tutorial software that teaches
you about PIC programming.
goto go to a normal label in the program
Just like the BASIC Stamps, PICs
gosub go to a subroutine
can also be programmed in the
I/O instructions: BASIC language, with several
high set an I/O pin to its high value (1) free software programs able to
output set the direction of an I/O pin to output do this, such as PICBasic-lite.
pot read the value of a potentiometer on an I/O pin
pulsin read the duration of a pulse coming from an input pin.
sound send a sound of a certain frequency to an output pin.
Instructions specific to BASIC Stamp:
branch read a branching table
eeprom download a program to EEPROM
nap sleep for a specific time
random pick a random number
read read a value from EEPROM
Microchips PIC family

One of the most successful microcontroller chip families belongs to the PIC range for
example the commonly used PIC16F84A device. It is powerful (200 nanosecond instruction
execution) yet easy to program (only 35 single-word instructions). CMOS Flash/EEPROM-based
8-bit microcontroller packs Microchips powerful PIC architecture into an 18-pin package. The

same device can be used for prototyping and production and the end application can be
easily updated without removing the device from the end product via the ICSP. It is easily
adapted for automotive, industrial, appliances, low power remote sensors, electronic locks and
security applications.
Program memory: 1792 (bytes), 1024 (words).
Ta b l e 2 4 . 5 S P E C I F I C AT I O N C H A RT
DATA RAM SPEED MHz I/O PORTS TIMERS BROWN OUT ICSP
68 20 13 1+WDT False True
Additional features: 20 mA source and 25 mA sink per I/O, 64 bytes data EEPROM
Low voltage device option: PIC16LF84A
Package options 18 PDIP, die-waffle, uncut wafer, 18 SOIC 300mil, 20 SSOP
208mil, wafer-frame
Robotics and the LEGO RCX brick

microcontroller
In the early 1980s Seymour Papert, an early pioneer in artificial intelligence at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had the idea to include a computer inside a LEGO
block. This idea has been further refined into the LEGO Mindstorms invention system. Photo
24.3 shows a typical LEGO RCX 1.0 brick with attached sensors and used as part of a robot
chassis in classroom robotics study. The RCX (Robotic Control X) is an autonomous LEGO
microcontroller based on the Hitachi H8 chip. Table 24.6 shows the specifications. The micro-
controller has three input ports (1, 2 and 3) for sensors such as touch, light and rotation, and
also has three output ports (A , B and C) able to drive motors, lamps etc.
Ta b l e 2 4 . 6 R C X 1 . 0 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
SERIES H8-3297
ROM size 16K internal
SRAM size 512 internal & 32K in brick
Execution speed 16 MHz @ 5 V
Timers 8-bit 2 & 16-bit 1
ADC 8-bit 8
I/O pins 43
Input only pins 8
Serial port 1
10 mA outputs 10
Power supply 6 1.5 V alkaline cells or AC plug-pack
Photo 24.3
Robotics RCX brick.

In the school lab environment, students use the RCX brick as the heart of a course of
study in robotics and control systems using PC RoboLAB programming software. Sensors are
electrically connected to the input ports to take data from the environment, process the data If your school has access to
(data-logging) and signal output devices such as motors to rotate. Mobile robots can be built the LEGO robotics system
discussed above, you might
from standard LEGO building pieces that allow the RCX brick and sensors to move about the
try to investigate the robot
environment and perform specific tasks or challenges. RoboLAB is the icon-based program- construction and subsequent
ming language that comes in a variety of complexity levels: pilot, inventor and investigator. programming necessary to
This program is based on National Instruments LabVIEW virtual instrument software and it complete the following
can become the basis of powerful experimental investigations. In fact, it was LabVIEW soft- challenge task.
ware that NASA used to monitor the Mars sojourner Rovers location in 1997. Design and build a robot that
Programs constructed in RoboLAB are downloaded to the brick using an infrared trans- effectively senses and follows
a dark or black line drawn in a
mitting tower connected to the USB port of the PC. The RCX brick can also be directly con-
circle of approximate diameter
trolled remotely from the computer. An on-chip 16K ROM contains a driver that is run when 2.5 m on the lab floor. On
the brick is first powered up and this driver is extended by downloading firmware to the brick starting the program, the robot
initially. The driver and firmware accept and execute commands from the downloaded student must follow the circular line
byte code programs which are stored in a 6K region of memory. until it comes into contact with
An even higher-level language that is available for the RCX microcontroller brick is the a solid block, at which point
C-language variant called Not-Quite-C or NQC, written by Dave Baum. This language allows it turns through 90 degrees,
travels in a straight line for
direct command line programming to the brick through an interface called the BricXCC or Brick
1.0 m and then stops. Present
X command centre. your findings and demonstrate
Photo 24.4 shows a screen dump of a typical RoboLAB inventor-level program for the RCX your final robot performing
brick allowing the robot to perform a series of dance steps under software control. its task.
Photo 24.4
Sample RoboLAB program.
Practice questions
*16 An electronic circuit is to be used to convert light intensity changes to sound.
What might be the input and output transducers? Briefly describe the functional
blocks that might make up the circuit and illustrate these in a block diagram.
*17 Name the three terminals of a transistor and illustrate these on a symbol used to
represent an NPN transistor.
*18 What is the difference between an Op-Amp IC and a timer IC? State a common
example of each type of integrated circuit.

**19 Sketch the circuit for a non-inverting amplifier whose voltage gain is 500 and
whose input impedance is 20 k. Use a 741 Op-Amp chip and include all power
supply connections.
**20 Figure 24.22 shows the graphical current transfer characteristics of a particular
transistor. Estimate the current amplification factor, , at IB = 35 A and at
IB = 60 A.
Figure 24.22
For question 20. 12
10
IC (mA)
8
6
4
2
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
IB (A)
**21 A student obtains the following data table from an experiment to measure
transistor current gain:
IB (A) 20 40 60 80 100 120

IC (mA) 3.6 7.0 10.8 14.5 17.9 21.5
(a) Plot IC versus IB values correctly in order to produce a line of best fit and
deduce the current gain, .
(b) Sketch the circuit that the student may have used to obtain this type of
data.
**22 The circuit of Figure 24.23 is used to investigate the voltage gain of a transistor.
If the supply voltage used is VCC = 18 V and the following table gives values of
the collector current, IC, and the baseemitter voltage, VBE, use the fact that
VC
voltage gain AV = to calculate the gain for this circuit. Complete the
VBE
table for the values of VC voltage at the collector.
I C (mA) V BE (V) V C (V)

10.0 0.62
30.0 0.69
50.0 0.76
Figure 24.23 Vcc = 20 V

For question 22.
A Ic
Rc = 330
10 k
10 k
VC
VB
0V

***23 Figure 24.24 shows an Op-Amp temperature sensing and heater circuit. The
resistance of the thermistor decreases with an increase in temperature.
(a) In what mode is the Op-Amp operating in this circuit?
(b) As the temperature drops, explain what happens to the output of the
Op-Amp.
(c) What will be the subsequent effect on the transistor collector working current?
(d) Why does the heater then switch on?
(e) What is the function of the set-temp potentiometer in the circuit?
(f) Redraw the circuit correctly, showing the power supply connections to the
Op-Amp chip.
+9 V
Figure 24.24
For question 23.
relay
R1 temp.
set
to
heater

741
+ R3 T1
R2
thermistor
0V

***24 In Figure 24.23 explain if the LED would be ON or OFF under the conditions of
(a) full sunlight on the LDR; (b) darkness or no light on the LDR.
Figure 24.25
For question 24.
LED
RL
LDR 12 V
RB
Figure 24.26
***25 In Figure 24.26 a transistor is to switch a torch bulb as shown. If the bulb is For question 25.
intended to operate at 3 V and dissipate 0.3 W, calculate:
(a) the collector current, IC, at proper illumination; bulb
(b) the collector resistor, RC, value required;
RB
(c) the base resistor, RB, value if the transistor has = 100.
RC
6V

***26 In the circuit of Figure 24.27 the transistor has a current gain value of 500 and
IC = 20 mA. Calculate (a) the value of RB; (b) the power dissipated in RB and RL;
(c) voltage VCE; (d) voltage VBE.
Figure 24.27 12 V
For question 26.
330
RB
***27 Figure 24.28 is referred to as a common emitter amplifier with collector

feedback. Assuming a silicon transistor, and the values as listed: RC = 10 k,
RB = 100 k, VCC = 10 V and = 120,
(VCC IC RC VBE)
(a) show that IB = ;
RB
(b) calculate IB, IC and VCE for this circuit.
Figure 24.28
For question 27.
RC
RB VCC
VCE
***28 Figure 24.29 shows a 741 Op-Amp in a single audio frequency mixer circuit with
two fader inputs. Consider this circuit and explain:
(a) the function of the input potentiometers;
(b) a mathematical equation linking Vout to V1 and V2;
(c) if RF = R in this circuit, what is the amplifier gain and give the equation
linking the same quantities as in (b);
(d) what would happen to the output voltage if the non-inverting input was
connected to a small DC voltage rather than ground.
Figure 24.29 in2

For question 28.
in1
R RF
V2
+12 V
R
V1 Vout
741
+
12 V

***29 The circuit of Figure 24.30 contains a 555 timer IC chip and is described as a
digital signal injector for testing audio circuits. Describe how this circuit works
and determine its likely output frequency range. What is the likely function of
the circuit components VR1 and VR2? How could the circuit be used as a piece of
test equipment in an audio laboratory?
(9 V) VCC Figure 24.30

SW1 For question 29.
VR1
50 k
1 k
4 8
6
555 3
2
1 5 1 F
VR2
500 probes
0.047 F 0.1 F
0V
The following circuit provides a 2.5 W amplifier based on the LM380 chip
suitable for general purpose audio applications:
+915 V Figure 24.31

+
470 F
2.2 F 14
6 12
11
10 + 470 F
2.2 F LM380 5
7
2 3
4 8
1
VIN
0.1 F
50 k 8
47 k 2.7
2.2 F
Make a list of components in this circuit, and use an electronics supplier

catalogue (e.g. Dick Smith) to work out a total price if you wanted to build
the circuit.

UNIT 08
Magnetism & Electromagnetism
CHAPTER 25
Magnetism and Electromagnetism
25.1 INTRODUCTION
In 1269 a French scholar, Pelerin de Maricourt, also known by his Latin name of Petrus
Peregrinus de Maricourt, was taking part in the battle siege of an Italian city. As the action
was very slow and dull he wrote a letter to a friend describing his study of magnets. In this
letter he described the existence of magnetic poles, regions on the magnets where the force
seemed to be most intense, and explained how to determine the north and south pole of
magnets, using the fact that the same poles always repelled. He also described how one could
not isolate a single pole, for if a magnet were broken in two then each piece would have both
a north and a south pole. In the same letter Peregrinus explained that a compass would work
better if the magnetic sliver were placed onto a pivot rather than being floated on a cork, and N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
that a graduated scale placed under the sliver would allow more accurate directions to be If you heat an iron bar attached
read. He had described a navigation compass. to a magnet as shown, at a
Just like Peregrinus way back then, everybody today is fascinated by magnets. In this particular temperature (Curie
chapter we will look at the theory and applications of basic magnetism and electromagnet- temperature) the bar falls off.
ism. These topics were among the earliest scientific investigations and have proven to be Why might this be?
extremely valuable areas of research. Some common questions often asked include these:
Why do compass needles always point north? Have they always done this? horseshoe
magnet
Why do older recorded tapes always sound worse than brand new ones?
How do long-distance migrating birds always find their way home?
Are all metals attracted to magnets or just steel?
flame
How is it that electric motors are getting smaller but are still getting more powerful?
Will I lose data from my computer floppy disks if I store them incorrectly?
Do magnets in pillows and in wristbands really relieve pain and stress?
Why would you feed a cow a magnet?
25.2 M A G N E T S A N D M A G N E T I C M AT E R I A L S
Magnetic materials
Magnetic substances are those that can be magnetised. The elements iron (Fe), cobalt (Co)
and nickel (Ni), together with certain alloys, display the strongest magnetic properties. Pieces
of magnetic mineral ore such as magnetite (Fe3O4) were probably the earliest magnets
discovered and used. In historical times it was recorded that some rocks from a region of
Magnesia, now called Turkey, were attracted to each other. These rocks were called magnets.
The Chinese used lodestones cast in the form of spoons for divination and text from their
Han dynasty of about 250 BC describes a south-pointing spoon. In 113 BC details were given
on how chess pieces could be made to fight automatically using the lodestone. The term lode
seems to refer to the lodestar or guiding star, which refers to how the stone was used in
navigation and divination in early Chinese history.

Figure 25.1(a) Historically, the magnetic phenomenon was regarded as magical, but today we recognise
Magnetic poles. that such forces are due to the fundamental natural force of magnetism. It was in the nine-
teenth century that it became clear that both electricity and magnetism were related as
fundamental forces of nature.
One of the main properties of magnets is their ability to attract objects, chiefly those
south made of iron. Several naturally occurring minerals are magnetic. Any material able to keep its
seeking north
seeking magnetic properties for a long time is called a permanent magnet. The English scientist
Michael Faraday showed with sensitive apparatus that, in fact, all substances are influenced
S
N by magnets. He classified substances into three types.
south
Diamagnetic substances, which are very weakly repelled by magnets. This class, in
axis north
fact, includes most substances. Examples of diamagnetic materials include glass and
the metals copper, gold, and bismuth.
Paramagnetic substances, which are very weakly attracted by magnets. Examples
include the metals manganese, aluminium and platinum.
magnet
Ferromagnetic substances, which are very strongly attracted to magnets. Iron,
nickel and cobalt, together with alloys of these metals and aluminium, are the best
iron filings attached to poles
examples. The majority of small permanent bar magnets used at school are called
ALNICO magnets. Can you work out how the name is derived? Ferromagnetic comes
from the Latin ferrum, meaning iron.
repulsion of poles If any magnet is freely suspended by a thread, as shown in Figure 25.1(a), then it will
always orient itself so that one of its ends points to the Earths north pole and one points to
the Earths south pole. Also, as shown in Figure 25.1, if a magnet has small iron filings sprinkled
over it then they tend to congregate at both ends where the degree of attraction is strongest.
Simple tests between two separate magnets always lead to one of two results the ends
N are either attracted together or repelled apart. This is also represented in Figure 25.1. The
S S forces attracting the iron filings or repelling opposite ends of the magnets seem to be
strongest at the magnetic poles of any magnet. The pole that points north is called the
north-seeking pole and is by convention labelled as N, while the pole that points south is
attraction of poles called the south-seeking pole and is labelled S. The term north comes from the Italian nertro,
meaning left because north is to the left when one is facing the rising sun. The line through
the poles of a magnet is called the magnetic axis. A simple statement of the law of magnetic
poles is:
S Unlike poles attract while like poles repel.
N S As seen in Figure 25.1(b), the magnetic axis of a bar magnet passes through the magnetic
material itself, whereas in a horseshoe magnet, the bar is bent into a U-shape so that the
magnetic axis passes across the gap created between the poles.
The development of magnetic materials has been progressing at a rapid rate since the
simplest ferrous magnetics and ALNICO-type alloys of the early twentieth century. Most
recently, the development of rare earth magnets has occurred, with world leadership roles
being taken in research by Australian scientists. In 1992, for example, one of the worlds most
powerful magnet facilities was opened in Sydney, called the National Pulsed Magnet Laboratory.
This facility is used in developing high-tech electronic devices on a sub-atomic level includ-
ing quantum wires, dots and switches. It houses enormously powerful supercooled magnets
capable of producing fields up to a million times stronger than the Earths magnetism.
Figure 25.1(b) (b)
Magnetic axes.
poles poles
N S N S
axis
axis
Bar magnet Horseshoe magnet
Magnetism and Electromagnetism 549

Rare earth magnets have been produced since about the 1980s, but only recently have
become relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The term rare earth is used because they are
made from alloys of the rare earth elements or lanthanides. They are mostly made from the Four ring magnets are placed on
alloy neodymium iron boride (NdFeB) by a sintering process, meaning they are formed with a wooden pole as shown.
intense heat and pressure. The element neodymium is found in the mineral sands component If the distance between the top
two is 10 cm, calculate the other
called monazite, which is mined in various coastal locations around Australia a good rea-
spacings?
son for the environmentally sensitive process of mineral sands mining. After being moulded
into various shapes the magnets are coated in zinc to protect against corrosion as the mater-
ial is highly susceptible to oxidation. One of the big advantages of rare earth permanent
magnets over ALNICO alloys is that they retain their full magnetic strength almost indefi-
nitely. The magnetic material, however, will begin to lose magnetisation at high temperatures
so these have to be avoided, but their performance is enhanced at very low temperatures. The 10 cm
rare earth super magnets, as they are dubbed, are revolutionising the magnet applications
industry. Because rare earth magnets contain much stronger magnetism in smaller volumes of
alloy, they are being used in components such as mini hi-fi speakers, mini electric motors and
generators, robotics instrumentation, wrist-watches and hearing-aids. In fact, new technology
?
applications are being developed continually. It has been estimated that up to 30 funda-
mental components in the modern electronically controlled motor vehicle alone will benefit
from the use of very small rare earth magnet technology. ?
A c t i v i t y 2 5 . 1 M A G N E T I C M OV E S
1 Figure 25.1(a) illustrates a magnet sprinkled with iron filings. If you actually
did this your teacher would not be pleased explain why this might be so!
Use a magnet placed on the viewing glass of an overhead projector. Place In May 1997, using a Ni/Sn coil,
another thin glass plate on top of it and a piece of clear acetate plastic on top scientists at Lawrence Berkeley
of this. Now you can sprinkle iron filings over the magnet, but on to the acetate National Laboratory in California
sheet. Give the sheet a gentle tap and observe the pattern of iron filings achieved the highest ever
magnetic field of 13.5 T.
produced. Try to explain this to the rest of the class.
Thats big!
2 The Guinness Book of Records lists the worlds largest magnet and electromagnet. Superconducting magnets have
Research these and find out their characteristics as well as what they are used become an important tool in the
for. In what field of physicsengineering are very large magnets required? application of nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) for materials
and medical research, especially
Inducing magnets magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI). With increasing magnetic
If a piece of iron or steel, such as a paper clip, is allowed to come into contact with one of field strengths, scientists are
the poles of a permanent magnet then it also will become magnetised and attract iron filings, able to view materials with
as shown in Figure 25.2. The paperclip will remain a magnet while in contact with the bar higher clarity and resolution.
magnet, but once separated will probably lose most of its magnetic attraction properties The National High Magnetic
again. The paperclip has become an induced magnet, as opposed to a permanent magnet. Field Laboratory (NHMFL) in the
Pure iron, or soft iron as it is called, becomes quite a strong induced magnet while in con- USA is working on building
the largest NMR magnet in the
tact with another magnet. The induced poles are oriented as shown in Figure 25.2 and this
world, capable of field strengths
is most easily tested with a third magnet whose poles are marked in some way, using the
of 25 T. Now thats even bigger!
observed forces of repulsion or attraction.
paper clip iron filings

Figure 25.2
N S N S Induced magnetism.
bar magnet

It is possible to permanently magnetise a piece of steel alloy using the properties of

induced magnetism by using a stroking technique, as shown in Figure 25.3. In fact, this
method works for any ferromagnetic material but several steps need to be completed:
Always move the permanent magnet in the same direction along the rod.
At the end of a stroke move the magnet in a circle back to the beginning.
Always keep the same pole of the permanent magnet in contact with the rod.
Figure 25.3
stroke
Producing a magnet. S and lift
N
compass
N S
N S
unmagnetised rod magnetised rod
After completing from 20 to 50 strokes it will be found that the rod has retained some
degree of permanent magnetism. This technique works because small microscopic zones
within the rod called magnetic domains behave like miniature bar magnets and become
aligned so that their axes of magnetism are parallel. This effect will be further explained later
in this section. You can also magnetise a rod of steel by holding it in a northsouth direction
and hitting it repeatedly on one end with a hammer.
Magnetic compass needles are, of course, small bar magnets and as such can be a useful
Figure 25.4 test device for magnetic poles. A compass needle can be used to test the polarity of the bar
Breaking and storing a magnet.
magnet induced by the stroking technique. If a permanent bar magnet is gently broken in
half, each piece itself becomes a smaller, weaker bar magnet, which can also be tested using
N S the compass needle (Figure 25.4).
An iron rod can also be magnetised by being placed into the centre of a long cylindrical
coil or solenoid that is carrying a large electric current. This electromagnetic coil and its
N S N S
properties are further discussed in Section 25.4, but for now it is sufficient to realise that the
powerful inducing magnetic field produced by the solenoid is responsible for permanently
N S N S N S N S rearranging the domains in the iron rod and producing some permanent magnetism. In fact,
laboratory bar magnets are produced in this way while the bar magnet alloy is still in a high
keeper temperature state, which allows easy rearrangement of the domains.
S N
N S Theory of magnetism
w pa
oo ce
Materials can be classified according to how well they retain their magnetism. Those mater-
s
de r
n
ials that are difficult to magnetise initially but retain their magnetism once induced are called
S N magnetically hard materials. Those that are easy to magnetise but lose their induced
N S magnetism almost immediately when removed from the magnetising source are called mag-
keeper netically soft materials. Examples of hard materials, such as steel, are used in long-life
applications such as magnetic recording heads on audio and video cassette recorders, loud-
speaker magnets and the ferric and ferrochrome alloys used in audio and video cassette
magnetic tapes. Examples of soft materials, such as iron and ironnickel alloys called mu-
metals, are used as electromagnet cores, in relays and switching solenoids and in magnetic
shielding cases surrounding sensitive electronic instruments. You probably have magnetic
shielding in your watch. These materials, when used as electromagnet cores, become
strongly magnetised only when a very strong electric current is passed through the electro-
magnet coil.
Audio and video magnetic tapes consist of a flexible polyester film onto which is placed
a very thin magnetisable layer of iron oxide or chromium oxide. The polyester is, in fact, the
same material from which plastic soft drink bottles are made. The process of recording uses a
pulsing electromagnet in the recording head to align the domains on the tape relative to each

other in a specific pattern. When the playback head of the recorder is subsequently passed
across the tape, this same pattern of aligned domains induces electrical signals into the
pickup coil of the head. Recorded tapes should obviously not be placed in the near vicinity
of strong magnetic forces such as hi-fi speakers, VCRs and television sets, and also should
not be subjected to high temperatures, otherwise the prealigned domains will be disordered
and the recorded information lost from the tapes. This loss of recorded information is called
fade out.
The same alignment of domains occurs when computer disks (floppy or hard disks) are
recorded. (See Photo 25.1.) Modern devices, such as credit cards and telephone phonecards,
contain a magnetic strip with encoded information stored on it in the form of permanently
aligned domains in particular patterns. Deliberate erasing or rerecording of the information
on computer disks and credit cards simply involves electromagnetic recording heads realign-
ing the necessary magnetic domains in the magnetic material. This will be further discussed
in Section 25.4. Once again it should be realised that these devices, just like tapes, are easily
erased or made unusable if they remain close to strong magnetic fields for any period of time. Photo 25.1
Magnetic tape and disk.
It would be a pity if you lost your physics assignment, done on a word processor and stored
on floppy disk, just because you left your disk on your hi-fi speaker!
Even a hard magnet will become demagnetised if it is heated strongly. The temperature
at which it loses its magnetism is called the Curie temperature, named after Pierre Curie who
investigated this phenomenon in 1895. For iron, this temperature is 773C. Demagnetisation
also occurs if magnets are dropped or hammered, which is why they need to be handled with
care in the laboratory and not continually knocked around. Even if left to stand on a shelf, a
single isolated magnet will eventually lose its magnetism due to the combined effects of both
temperature and the Earths magnetism influencing the alignment of the domains within the
magnet material. For this reason magnets are purchased in pairs with soft iron or mu-metal
keepers and should be stored as a complete magnetic circuit, illustrated in Figure 25.4.
In this configuration there are no free magnetic poles and the alignment of domains is a
continuous NS orientation.
As illustrated in Figure 25.4, cutting a magnet in half simply produces smaller bar mag- N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
nets. This seems to indicate the fact that magnetism is connected to the microscopic, and
A Stainless steel is about 80%
even the atomic, structure of matter. It is known that each electron in an atom does, in fact,
iron but is non-magnetic
act as a small magnet due to its motion of rotation and spin. The electrons are known to
because the chromium atoms
always spin on their axes in a very exact manner relative to the atom. In most materials the lock the iron atoms in place.
combined effect of many spinning electrons within the atom cancels out any net magnetism How does this prevent
surrounding an individual atom or collective region of atoms within the material. Physicists stainless steel from being
would say that the net magnetic spin is zero. In the case of the ferromagnetic materials, magnetised?
however, the spin of the electrons does not cancel out but produces a magnetic effect B Submarines can be detected
associated with the atom. Adjacent atoms subsequently affect each other and become aligned by the residual magnetism of
over small zones or regions that are the magnetic domains of the material. their iron hulls. Why not
Normally the direction of the N and S poles of adjacent domains point in different direc- make a submarine from
tions so that the individual magnetic forces cancel out over the material and it is unmagne- stainless steel? Shipbuilders
need to use steel with a very
tised. See Figure 25.5(a) in which the boundaries represent the contact between different
high tensile strength to
magnetic domains in which all atoms have similar alignment. The arrows indicate the strength
stand the water pressure
and direction of the magnetism within each domain. If the material is stroked by an at depth, and therein lies
inducing magnet, or placed in a current-carrying electromagnetic coil, the magnetic axes of a clue.
more atoms become aligned with the outside field direction. Some order is superimposed on
(a) unmagnetised material (b) magnetised material

domains aligned randomly Figure 25.5
domains line up Magnetic domains.

Photo 25.2 the material, and the boundaries of the domains, with fields parallel to the outside field,
Magnetic fields. expand. Not all domains have their field in the same direction, but the majority become
aligned with the outside field. This has the combined effect of producing a large magnetic
field strength within the material and thus it has become magnetised. (See Figure 25.5(b).)
If the magnetic domain explanation and the source of magnetism as related to electron
spin are in fact correct, then we would always expect to see magnetic poles occurring in
pairs. North and south magnetic poles existing independently should not be possible. The
theoretical existence of magnetic monopoles or single north or south poles in isolation was
postulated by the physicist Paul Dirac in 1931 and research has been going on ever since to
try to prove their existence.
Questions
1 What is a magnetic substance and does it exist naturally?
2 What is the difference between a magnetic pole and an induced magnetic pole?
3 Describe how you might tell the difference between two similar metallic rods,
only one of which you know to be a magnet, but the other is magnetic material.
4 What is the difference between the types of magnetic substances?
5 What is the importance of modern research into magnetic alloys and supermagnets?
6 Ferrochrome audio tapes generally require a much stronger signal from the
recording head of cassette recorders. Explain what might be the reason for this
in terms of domain theory of magnetism.
Magnetic forces and fields

If you carried out the iron filings activity with the overhead projector you would have
obtained patterns similar to those in the set of photos shown here.
These are the patterns produced by a single bar magnet, a single horseshoe magnet and
pole repulsion or attraction. These patterns of iron filings indicate a zone of influence
surrounding the magnets called a magnetic field of force. This magnetic force field is in fact
three-dimensional and the iron filings represent the cross-section through the full 3D field.
You should try to visualise what the field would look like in 3D or alternatively your
school laboratory might have a 3D model of magnetic fields using small iron filings suspended
in vegetable oil. This piece of equipment makes viewing the full 3D magnetic field quite easy.
Figure 25.6 illustrates the conventional method of drawing magnetic field diagrams using
magnetic field lines or lines of magnetic flux with directional arrows indicating the direc-
tion of the force on a small test magnetic north pole placed into the field. The word flux
comes from the Latin fluere, meaning to flow.
The lines will consequently always be oriented from north pole to south pole about a
typical bar magnet. The direction of the force at any point in a magnetic field diagram is
given by the tangent to a field line at that point. This direction can always be tested with a
Figure 25.6
Lines of magnetic field 2
(lines of flux).
1 3 bar
N S N S
testing magnet

small compass needle, and it is important to realise that the lines of magnetic flux never cross
because this would be indicating two independent force vector directions at the same time,
a situation that is, of course, impossible.
To fully describe the nature of a given magnetic field at any point within it, we need to
describe both the fields magnitude and its direction. Hence the magnetic field is a vector
quantity and is represented by the vector symbol B. The magnitude of the magnetic field can
be represented by the flux lines being drawn closer together or further apart, as shown in the
field representation of Figure 25.7, while its direction as before is given by the arrowhead
showing the direction of the force on a single north pole.
Figure 25.7
area A area A Magnetic field strength
(flux density).
low B
flux
lines
high B
N
S direction N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A magnetic domain contains
about 106 iron atoms. If the
atoms are 1010 m apart, how
It is helpful to establish a convention when drawing magnetic field diagrams. The lines of big a cube would a domain be?
magnetic flux within the field B are drawn so that the number of lines per unit area is
proportional to the strength of the field. Recall this is the same concept as for electric field
lines. If this convention is used then we can define magnetic flux, , as the total number of
lines passing through any given area, and the magnetic field strength, called magnetic flux
density, B, as the magnetic flux per unit area. Hence:
=BA
where = magnetic flux measured in weber (Wb); B = magnetic flux density or field strength
in tesla (T); A = area of the field being considered in square metres (m2) perpendicular to the
flux lines.
Note, therefore, that with SI units, one tesla is the equivalent of one weber per square metre:
1.0 T = 1.0 Wb2 = 1.0 Wb m 2

1.0 m
The weber (Wb) is named in honour of Wilhelm Weber (18041890), a German physicist
and close collaborator of Karl Friedrich Gauss (17771855), who mathematically modelled
electric and magnetic fields. An alternative but older unit of magnetic field strength, B, is the
gauss (G), where 1.0 G = 1 104 N A1 m1 = 1 104 T.
The tesla (T) is named in honour of Nikola Tesla (18561943), a Croatian-born physicist
who became a citizen of the United States in 1889, and whose research and patents led to
the development of AC power supply and transmission. He was an engineering assistant to
the famous Thomas Edison, and also designed the first electric chair in New York in 1905.
Example
In a uniform magnetic field, the field strength is 5.5 104 T. If an area within the field is
defined as having a length of 0.2 m and a width of 0.1 m, calculate the magnetic flux, .

T E S T Y O U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G Solution
Given that B = 5.5 104 T, A = 0.2 m 0.1 m = 0.02 m2, use:
Propose a way to show that the
force between two magnets is
=BA
not electrostatic.
= 5.5 10 4 T 0.02 m 2
= 1.1 10 5 Wb
Figure 25.8
For question 9.
(a) Questions
7 Explain the difference between magnetic flux and magnetic flux density.
8 Calculate the magnetic flux density in a region where 2.5 105 Wb cut through
an area whose dimensions are 0.15 cm 0.75 cm.
9 Draw the set of magnetic field lines surrounding the formation of magnets and
S N rods in Figure 25.8.
S N Physicists have developed extremely sensitive magnetic field detectors that rely on the
N S voltages produced as electric currents flow in conductors within the magnetic field. These
detectors can measure magnetic field strengths as low as 1 1016 T, which allow research
N S not only into basic magnetisation of materials but also for mapping small variations in the
Earths magnetic field. These data may yield information on underground mineral ore deposits.
(b) N Within the human body, very weak magnetic fields are generated by various organs and
medical diagnosis instruments detect these fields and couple them with imaging processes
using computers, in order to look at abnormal tissue such as cancerous tumours. The
S magnetic effect of atoms in individual cells and tissues can also be detected using associated
magnetic technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Some of these medical
S S applications are further discussed in Chapter 33.
N N
M A G N E T I C F I E L D O F T H E E A RT H 25.3
The Earth has a magnetic field surrounding it which is called the magnetosphere. The
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E magnetic field originates from an internal magnetic polarity similar to that of a large bar
The geographical northsouth
magnet whose poles are roughly aligned with the geographical northsouth axis of the Earth
axis (the geodesic pole) is itself. The angular difference existing between the Earths magnetic axis and its spinning
marked with a brass plaque at geographical axis is called the angle of declination, as shown in Figure 25.9(a).
the South Pole. It has to be At present, the north magnetic pole is situated at 101 W longitude and 75 N latitude
shifted about 10 km each year. on the Earths surface. What is called the magnetic north pole of the Earth is actually a
Why is this, if the geodesic pole magnetic south and, of course, vice versa for the so-called south magnetic pole.
doesnt shift? The Earths magnetic field also affects a freely suspended compass needle in different
ways at different latitudes. (See Figure 25.9(b).) If a compass needle is suspended on a
pinpoint it will only come to rest horizontally at the Earths equator. At all other latitudes the
suspended needle will show a downward angle of dip or inclination. In fact, at regions close
to the magnetic poles of the Earth, the angle of inclination approaches 90 and, of course,
makes the normal operation of navigation compasses quite useless.
Figure 25.9 (a) (b) (c)
Earths magnetic field: magnetic N crust
(a) declination; (b) inclination; North Pole
(c) Earths interior.
S Earths
flux
geographic lines
Equator mantle
magnetic solid
N inner
Equator
magnetic core
South N S
molten outer
angle of Pole angle of core
declination inclination

The magnetic poles of the Earth have had a tendency throughout geological history to
wander around over the surface of the Earth, in terms of latitude and longitude. This means
that the internal processes causing the formation of the magnetic field and the subsequent
effective bar magnet have moved around considerably. It has been estimated that the exact
position of the magnetic poles may change by as much as ten to twenty kilometres per day.
There is considerable geological evidence, based on natural magnetic mineral orientations
within lavas that were originally molten, that the magnetic poles of the Earth have even
reversed numerous times since the Earths formation. The real processes that form the
Earths magnetosphere as well as control its motions and pole orientations are as yet not well
understood by physicists and geologists.
Research based primarily on seismic studies and analysis of earthquake recordings has
produced an internal view of the Earth, presented in a simplified way in Figure 25.9(c). It
is thought that the Earths magnetic field is caused by the cycling motion of the molten
material, mainly iron and nickel, that makes up the outer core of the Earth. The motion of this
molten material surrounding a solid inner core of iron, together with the spinning of the Earth
itself, produce electric currents that flow through the Earth and maintain the magnetic field.
Magnetism and flowing electricity are closely related, as seen in the next section.
Figure 25.10 shows a wider view of the Earths magnetosphere, including the magnetic
field lines and the region of trapped radioactive particles that come primarily from the Suns
solar winds. This region comprises the Van Allen radiation belts, named after James A. Van N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Allen, born 1914, whose work was very important in establishing the International In 1986 scientists discovered
Geophysical Year (195758) and the launching of the satellite Explorer 1 which detected the that the yellowfin tuna has
belts. The Van Allen region surrounding the Earth appears to be divided into two zones sep- 10 million magnetic crystals in
arated by what is called the slot. The inner zone, comprised mostly of high energy protons, its skull. How could you test
reaches its maximum intensity at a height of about 4800 km. This inner zone is much more whether tuna use these crystals
stable than the outer zone, which is comprised mostly of highly energetic electrons that are to aid navigation, as has been
strongly affected by the solar activity that supplies the electrons. This outer zone reaches its suggested?
maximum intensity at a height of 16 000 km. The Van Allen region, as shown in Figure 25.10,
does not completely envelope the Earth but extends from latitude 75N to 75S on the day-
light hemisphere and from 70N to 70S on the night hemisphere. The comet-like shape of N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
the Earths magnetosphere is caused by the pressure of the solar wind particles being flung
Which would reach the higher
away from the Sun in all directions. This magnetosphere is very important for all life on Earth
temperature when dissolved in
as it acts like a radiation protective shield. It rapidly decelerates charged particles travelling
acid: a piece of magnetised steel
through space and deflects them into the radiation belts and toward the magnetic poles of or a piece of unmagnetised
the Earth. In periods of intense solar particle bombardment of the Earth from the Sun, these steel? Explain.
charged electrons and protons are forced to spiral downward along the Earths magnetic field If a piece of magnetised steel
lines close to the poles. These particles collide with atoms present in the upper atmosphere, dissolved in such acid, would the
producing visible light in the form of spectacular polar light shows called aurorae. solution of iron chloride be
Scientists believe that the Earths poles have flipped or reversed many times in geologi- attracted to a magnet?
cal history. During a reversal the Van Allen belts disappear and the Earth receives enormous If not, why not?
bursts of solar wind, causing havoc to the life forms on Earth. It has been postulated that
dinosaurs became extinct during one such reversal of the poles.
Figure 25.10
Earths magnetosphere.
th
ea
tic
sh
agne
geom ator
to
ne
eq u
ag
m
solar
Van Allen
wind belts
e n
zok
oc
sh
magnetosphere

N OV E L C H A L L E N G E A c t i v i t y 2 5 . 2 M A G N E T I S M A P P L I C AT I O N S
Which would reach the higher Use reference sources, such as a CD-ROM encyclopaedia or other library material, to
temperature when dissolved in research each of the following topics and prepare written reports:
acid: a steel spring when it
is compressed or when it is
1 The study of biomagnetism and the relationship between migratory birds and
relaxed? Why? the Earths magnetosphere. Why do certain bird species appear to have a high
concentration of iron in particular parts of the brain?
2 The phenomenon of a solar flare and its relationship to telecommunication
difficulties on Earth with radio and television.
3 The use of military applications, such as magnetic mines, which were employed
We read on the Internet that successfully as recently as the Gulf War crisis in 1991.
magnets are fed to cows to
attract bits of wire and nails 4 Geologists make use of the change in the Earths magnetic field strength
that they eat with the grass. surrounding large iron ore deposits as a means of detecting them. Find out
This seems a bit far fetched what a magnetometer is and how it is used to survey large expanses of land for
when you consider how long possible mineral ore deposits.
wire would last in a cows acidic
5 Do the people who sell magnetic pillows and wristbands offer any scientific
stomach. Test it use 0.17 M
evidence for their healing claims, or is it just mumbo-jumbo? Some horse
HCl (pH = 0.8).
magazines offer magnetic rugs for the comfort and protection of the animal!
What do you think?
6 Several species of aquatic bacteria swim along magnetic field lines. They have
tiny chains of magnetite crystals of one domain each. When stirred up, bacteria
swim north, which is towards the bottom (in the northern hemisphere where
they live). What would they do if this experiment was carried out on the equator
or in the Southern Hemisphere?
ELECTROMAGNETS 25.4
Permanent magnets are, in general, not as useful as electromagnets because their magnetism
cannot be turned on and off at will. In order to look at the practical applications of electro-
magnets, lets start by looking at the basic principle of interaction between electric current
and magnetic fields.
If the circuit in Figure 25.11 is set up with a cardboard support on which is placed
several small magnetic field plotting compasses, then a very interesting effect is seen when
the current is switched on. Note that the best voltage source to use in this circuit is a 12 V
car battery. The experiment should be performed quickly as the large current flowing, greater
than 20 A, causes rapid heating of the copper conductor wires. The Danish physicist Hans
Christian Oersted (17771851) published the results of a similar experiment in 1820 in the
British scientific journal Annals of Philosophy, in an article called Experiments on the effect
of electricity on the magnetic needle. In this work he described the way the compass needle
follows the almost circular pattern of magnetic field lines around the current-carrying wire.
Figure 25.11
Circuit for a current-carrying top view
conductor.
current
wire current
X flowing into
page
+
stand
B
12 volt
battery

Figure 25.11 also shows the typical field diagram used to represent the nature of the
field. The main characteristics of the magnetic field in this situation are:
the field lines are circular and concentric around the wire
the strength of the field decreases away from the wire, that is, it decreases with
radius, r, in metres
the direction of the field reverses if we reverse the direction of the current
the strength of the field is proportional to the magnitude of the current, I, in amps.
The magnetic field direction can be easily remembered by making use of Maxwells
screw rule. This rule makes use of the right hand and conventional flow of current. It should
be noted at this point that all rules associated in physics with electromagnetism normally
make use of your right hand. Always keep this in mind or else, if you use your left hand, youll
be predicting the exact opposite of what occurs in nature. Point your thumb along the
direction of the current and then curl your fingers around the wire. The direction in which
your fingers are pointing represents the direction of rotation of the magnetic field lines.
(See Figure 25.12.)
Figure 25.12
Right-hand screw rule.
X
S N
N S
current flowing current flowing
out of page into page
current flow
Figure (a) shows a part of the
arrow point X tail feathers field about an electromagnet.
view view
If it was turned off, would the
field lines change as in Figure
(b) or (c)?
(a)
When visualising the field in three dimensions, remember that the concentric circles
create a series of cylinders surrounding the wire, with the strength of the field decreasing
radially away from the wire itself. The characteristics of the field allow the proportionality to (b)
be stated as, at any point:
(c)
Bk
r
but actual measurements made allow a constant of proportionality to be established such

that:
B = 0I
2r
where B represents the value of the magnetic strength at some radial distance r from the
centre of a wire carrying current I amps. The constant 0 is called the permeability of free
space and has a value of 4 107 T m A1, hence:
B = 2 10 I
7
for a single current-carrying conductor.

Figure 25.13 Figure 25.13 illustrates another method of representing the field, with magnetic lines
Field surrounding a current-carrying entering the page as crosses and magnetic field lines exiting the page as dots. Consider these
wire cross-section.
as the flight feathers and the tips of the vector arrows.
direction
In a vacuum or air, the value of the constant, 2.0 107 N A2, is referred to as the
current B out of page magnetic constant, k, and thus the vector magnitude of the magnetic field is:
I direction I
into page B = kI
r
Dont get this confused with the electrostatic constant k from Chapter 21.
Note that when more than one wire exists, the magnetic fields have to be vectorially
added to find a resultant, such as is illustrated in the next example.
Example
Figure 25.14 Consider Figure 25.14. In the figure, two separate wires are in close proximity. If wire A
Example of wire A and B parallel
carries a current of 1.5 A and wire B carries a current of 2.5 A, calculate the value of the
conductors.
magnetic field strength at a point x between the two wires.
wire A I = 1.5 A
Solution
0.15 m The magnetic field due to wire A at point x is:
B x
B A = kI = 2 10 1.5 = 2 10 6 T into the page

7
0.1 m
wire B I = 2.5 A
r 0.15
The magnetic field due to wire B at point x is:
B B = 2 10 2.5 = 5 10 6 T out of the page

7
0.1
But Btot = BA + BB if we choose out of the page as the positive direction. Hence:
B tot = (2 10 6) + (5 10 6)
= 3 10 6 T out of the page
Multi-turn coils
Figure 25.15 Figure 25.15 shows a wire bent into a single circular loop. This loop can be considered as
Single loop coil field. made up of many small, straight segments each adding its individual magnetic field together
at the centre of the loop where the field will be the strongest and will be directed through
I B the loop as shown. The direction is once again determined by the right-hand rule. The
magnetic field strength at the loops centre is given by:
B = 0I = kI
Bc =
r
2r r
I
I
where r is the coil radius.
Using a cylindrical former made of cardboard or plastic and winding many hundreds of
turns of wire side by side, as shown in Photo 25.3, produces a device called a solenoid. The
word solenoid comes from the Greek solen, meaning tube. This concentrates the magnetic
field lines into a region of space that produces an almost perfectly uniform magnetic field

within the hollow body of the solenoid. The magnetic field at the centre of a very long solen- Photo 25.3
oid is constant and is found to depend only on the current flowing in the coil as well as the A solenoid and magnetic field.
number of turns per unit length of the solenoid. This type of field is illustrated in Figure
25.16, and the formula for the magnitude of the field strength in the solenoids centre is:
B = 2kNI
L
where N is the number of turns; L is the coil length in metres.

The polarity of the solenoids magnetic field is often predicted with the right-hand grip
rule, which states that if you grip the solenoid in the right hand so that your fingers natu-
rally curl around the solenoid in the direction of conventional current flow then the thumb
extended will point to the effective north pole of the solenoid magnetic field. The field lines
are then drawn in such a way that they flow externally from the north pole toward the south
pole at the coils opposite end. Externally, the solenoid field has a very similar shape to that
of a bar magnet (Figure 25.16). The magnetic field lines are continuous and extend down
through the centre of the solenoid to create the uniform field.
The solenoid can be made into an electromagnet if the hollow core contains a mag-
netically soft material. The core concentrates the lines of force and increases the magnetic
strength through the induction principle. Ironnickel alloys are the most commonly used
material in the physical construction of electromagnet cores, where they can increase mag-
netic field strengths several hundred times above that produced by the solenoid itself. The
greatest advantage of electromagnet assemblies is that the magnetic field can easily be
switched on or off simply by breaking the flow of current through the coil turns. They have
many practical applications.
(a) Field of a solenoid;
(b) the grip rule.
N
I I
solenoid
X X X X X X X X
N S
At the Boyne Island smelter at
Gladstone, huge currents are
turns
I used to extract aluminium from
I its ore by electrolysis. The
currents are so great that
workers wearing steel-capped
S
shoes find their feet pulled in
the direction of the magnetic
field. When former Prime
Questions Minister Paul Keating visited the

smelter his car wouldnt start
10 Describe the difference between the angles of declination and inclination when until they pushed it away from
referring to the Earths magnetic field. What are the Van Allen belts? the smelter. (The electronic
ignition was affected by the
11 Determine the magnetic field strength at a distance of 15 cm from a wire if it
field.) The huge magnetic fields
carries an electric current of (a) 5.5 A north; (b) 25 A west.
are so big that they can drag
12 A solenoid has a length of 20 cm and contains 8000 turns. If it carries a current large iron objects along the
of 15 A, what is the magnetic field strength at the centre of the coil? floor.

Figure 25.17 13 In Figure 25.17, the direction of the magnetic field around a current-carrying
For question 13. wire is shown. If the magnetic field at point p is 1.5 103 T and it is 1.0 cm from
the wire, what is the magnitude and direction of the current in the wire AB?
wire 14 Determine the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field at points P1 and P2
in the diagram shown in Figure 25.18.
p
A B
Electromagnet applications
Figure 25.18 There are many examples of electromagnets in devices around school, home and industry.
For question 14.
Special electrical switches that are controlled by small actuating electromagnets are called
solenoid switches. In these devices usually a small electric current flowing in the solenoid
4.0 cm P1
coil of the switch opens and closes a set of contacts that are designed to carry much larger
currents from the household 240 V supply. A good example is the switching solenoid in a
3.0 cm
washing machine that clunks at certain stages of the washing cycle when the electric motor
I2 = 15 A
controlling the washing and spin-drying functions turns on. The clunk is the electromagnet
3.0 cm core moving and opening or closing heavy-duty contact points. A smaller example is the
4.0 cm typical DC bell or buzzer that you will find in the physics laboratory. In this circuit the DC
P2 current initially begins to flow through the electromagnet, which magnetises the core and
I1 = 12 A attracts the iron armature bar through induction. This in turn breaks the contact point, which
switches off the electromagnet, allowing the armature bar to swing back. The to and fro
motion occurs rapidly and causes the ringing sound as the hammer strikes the bell.
Electromagnetic household overload circuit-breakers were discussed in Chapter 22.
These devices automatically break the 240 V circuit if the current flowing through the sensing
solenoids becomes excessive due to an inappropriate number of appliances being operated on
the one household power circuit.
Figure 25.19
A recording head. sensing coil
head
core
air gap at poles

magnetic coating
motion of
tape
base magnetised domains
Figure 25.19 illustrates the basic mechanism of an electromagnetic write head, which
forms the basis of the writing or recording head of cassette tape decks, video recorders, and
computer floppy and hard disk drives. The magnetic tapes or computer disks are made of a
flexible plastic base coated with a magnetic iron oxide particle layer. When small, rapidly
changing electric currents are sent to the recording head by the drive electronics, the small
electromagnet energises and develops a magnetic field at the air gap poles. This magnetic
field induces a pattern of domain alignment in the magnetic layer of the tape or disk and this
represents the recorded information or stored computer data. The tape or disk itself passes
rapidly across the air gap of the head so that a great amount of information can be recorded.
If this tape is subsequently passed across an even more sensitive read-head, the pattern of
aligned domains induces electric currents back into the pickup electromagnet coil and this
represents the AC current, which can be amplified and converted back into sound or data
required by a computer program.
Also associated with computers are the devices called dot-matrix printers. These
printers either use a 9 pin or a 24 pin print head, which contains either 9 or 24 small electro-
magnetic solenoid print hammer rods. The devices are called impact printers because the

metal firing pin is pushed forward as the electromagnetic firing solenoid is controlled by the
digital firing pulse. The pin strikes or impacts onto the paper through the print ribbon and
makes a mark. Very high quality print type can be produced, with each letter being formed by Most modern printers use ink-jet
a certain combination of all 9 or 24 pins being fired simultaneously. The solenoids are highly technology. Find out if these
sensitive and designed to fire rapidly, with recovery times in the order of milliseconds. The use electromagnetic firing.
typical life of printer heads is usually several hundred million strokes per firing pin and they
have a reputation for very low maintenance.
A c t i v i t y 2 5 . 3 S O M E M O R E A P P L I C AT I O N S
Numerous other technology applications of magnets and electromagnets exist around us.
Research the method of operation of the following:
1 Large electromagnetic cranes.
2 Magnetic switches for intruder alarms.
3 Library security tags on books and sensing coils at the registration desk.
4 Magnetic levitation of certain diamagnetic materials as a research oddity.
5 Magnetic levitation on very fast trains.
Figure 25.20
25.5 FORCES ON CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS The motor principle force:
(a) external field; (b) conductor field;
(c) the force on the conductor.
We have seen that a conductor carrying an electric current produces a magnetic field around (a)
it. It is logical to expect that this field would interact, by attraction or repulsion, with another
magnetic field of a permanent magnet placed within it. The fact that this occurs was origin-
ally verified by Michael Faraday and is commonly referred to as the motor principle because
it is the basis of operation of modern electric motors.
The diagrams of Figure 25.20 illustrate the nature of the force exerted on a current-
carrying conductor placed within a magnetic field. The action of the force on the conductor
is described by the following statement: N S
The force exerted on a current-carrying conductor within an external magnetic field is

mutually perpendicular to both the direction of the current flow and the direction
of the magnetic flux lines.
(b)
The reason for the force exerted in Figure 25.20 can be seen from the concentration
of the field lines on one side of the conductor and the cancellation of field lines on the
opposite side. Once again it is possible to use a simple right-hand rule (RHR) to predict
the direction of the force, as shown in Figure 25.21. This rule is often called the RH motor
rule. A simple, freely pivoting conductor set up between the poles of a horseshoe magnet
is enough to demonstrate the nature and direction of the force. Point your fingers in the current out
of page
direction of the external field lines, your extended thumb in the direction of the flow of con-
ventional current and the palm of your hand pushing in the direction of the induced force. (c)
The magnitude of the force on a current-carrying conductor can be shown to depend on
four factors:
F
The strength of the external field, B, in tesla.
The magnitude of the current, I, in amps.
The length, L, of the conductor within the magnetic flux in metres. N S
The angle, , of the orientation of the conductor to the lines of magnetic flux in degrees.

Figure 25.21
The right-hand motor rule.
I
pivot
N
I I
I +
N
When you jump start a car with
a flat battery, the leads from S
the good battery are connected force
to the same polarity terminals swings
of the flat battery. Will these S S out
B
leads move together or apart
when the charge flows?
Hence, the force, F, in newtons (N) will be given by:
F = B I L sin
Parallel conductors carrying current

If two conductors are placed within close proximity of one another running in parallel
directions, then, as they are made to conduct electric current, the magnetic field of the first
conductor will produce a force on the second current-carrying conductor and vice versa. This
Figure 25.22 is shown in Figure 25.22. The diagram illustrates the direction of the forces acting mutually
Forces on parallel conductors. on each conductor. Two force cases may exist, which can be identified by the use of the
right-hand rule.
(a)
W1
d
W2
Note that:
For two wires each carrying current in the same direction, the force is attractive, while
for two wires carrying currents in opposite directions, the force is repulsive.
The force between two wires of length L, separated by a distance, d, carrying currents I1
field of W2 and I2 respectively, can be found using the relation for the field produced at the centre of the
left-hand wire, 1, by the right-hand wire, 2.
attractive
force on W1
Same direction
B 2 = kI
d
(b) d where k is the magnetic constant, and the relation between the force on wire 1, its current
W1 W2
and the magnetic field due to wire 2, F1 = B2I1L. Hence, the magnitude of the force acting on
wire 1 will be:
F 1 = (kI 2) I 1L = kI 1I 2L
d d
field of W2
repulsive
force on
W1 but this is the same magnitude as and the opposite direction to the mutually acting force on
wire 2.
Opposite directions

By measuring very accurately the value of this mutually acting force on a pair of current- Figure 25.23
carrying conductors, a precise definition of the electric current unit, the ampere, has been For question 15.
established as a standard in SI units. Consequently, the ampere is defined as: 8A
The current which, when flowing through two infinitely long, parallel straight thin wires, +
placed one metre apart in a vacuum, produces a force of 2 107 newtons 1.2 cm

on each metre of wire.
B
Questions
15 A current-carrying wire passes perpendicularly through a magnetic field as shown Figure 25.24
For question 16.
in Figure 25.23. If the magnetic field strength is 1.5 103 T and the wire carries a
current of 8.0 A, calculate the force on the wire in both magnitude and direction. B = 0.025 T
16 A conductor of length 8.5 cm is placed between the poles of a large magnet as I = 25 A
S N
shown in Figure 25.24. If the wire conductor carries a current with direction
current
shown of 25 amperes, calculate the force on the conductor. into
17 In each of the situations of Figure 25.25, predict the directions of the induced page
force acting on the conductor if the direction of current flow is as shown.
Figure 25.25
The loudspeaker For question 17.
(a)
A moving coil loudspeaker, as is commonly found in small transistor radios or home stereo
systems, is designed to change electrical signals from the output of an amplifier back into
sound waves. The device is an output transducer and relies on the force produced by a flow-
ing current in a conductor within a magnetic field. A movable coil attached to a strengthened
paper cone is placed over the central shaft of a permanent magnet. The magnetic field is
+
radial, so that any movement produced will be backward and forward as shown. The amplifier
output supplies variable frequency currents and as these flow through the speaker voice coil
it is forced to vibrate in the same way as the currents. The paper cone also vibrates
(b)
backward and forward, moving the air and producing sound waves that match the amplitude
and frequency of the original electric current signals. (Refer back to Section 16.10.)
+
25.6 E L E C T R I C M OTO R S A N D M E T E R S
The force produced on a current-carrying conductor leads to some very important practical
applications in physics and engineering. In this section we will firstly look at the combined
turning effect of a magnetic field on a coil of conducting wire, called electromagnetic
torque. The word torque comes from the Latin torquere meaning to twist. We will use this
concept of torque as the basis for understanding both electrical measurement meters, such as
the voltmeter and ammeter, as well as the basic principles of operation of electric motors. The
action of the motor principle on a coil that is free to rotate in a magnetic field on an axis
produces the turning torque and can be regarded as the rotational equivalent of a force. The
magnitude of a torque, (tau), where is the Greek letter symbol used, is given by the prod-
uct of the force involved and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force
to the axis of rotation:
= F d
Units of torque are newton metres (Nm).

Refer to Figure 25.26. When torque is applied to a coil rotating in a magnetic field, you
can see that each side of the coil has a motor force, F = BIL, acting on it to cause a rotation
about the coil axis. Most importantly the coil side AB has a force acting upward whereas side
CD has a force acting downward so that the torque causes a clockwise rotation as seen from
the front of the diagram. The magnetic flux runs from left to right or north to south.

Figure 25.26
tio f
ta o
n
ro xis
Torque on a coil. F
a
axis of B
force rotation
F C
d1 rotation A
N S
fulcrum
D
= F d1 I F
I
It is interesting to consider what happens when coil side AB rotates around to the top of
the arc and begins to come down again. With the current flowing from B toward A, this part
of the coil now has a force acting upward and the section CD has an opposite force acting
downward. The coil now rotates anticlockwise as seen from the front of the diagram. The fact
that a coil can only rotate through 180 before the torque changes direction is a problem
and prevents the coil from continuously rotating. It can be overcome and we will see how
quite soon! It should be realised that the coil sides BC and DA are, in fact, always parallel in
alignment to the magnetic field lines and thus will have no force acting on them at all and
consequently will not play a part in producing a torque on the rotating coil.
Mathematically, if the coil has side length AB and side width BC in metres, then about
the axis of rotation, as shown in Figure 25.26, with the coil lying horizontally at first:
tot = AB + CD

but using FAB BC + FCD BC = tot
2 2
(FAB + F CD) BC = tot
2
2BI AB BC = tot
2
BIA = tot, where area A = AB BC
Thus, the total torque acting on a coil within a magnetic field is given by:
= BAIN
where B = magnetic field strength threading coil in teslas; A = cross sectional area of the coil
in square metres; I = current passing through the coil in amps; N = number of turns on the
coil. Note, that at some angle, , of the coil to the flux lines, the torque will no longer be a
maximum as it was at the horizontal. In fact, the torque at the vertical orientation is zero
instantaneously, because the force is acting through the axis of rotation. Thus, a more general
formula for the torque acting is given by:
= BAIN cos
where is the angle in degrees between the coil and the lines of magnetic flux.
Example
A coil contains 20 turns of conductor carrying an electric current of 150 mA. If the plane of
the coil is at an angle of 45 to the lines of magnetic flux between the poles of a magnet
whose field strength is 5.5 104 T, determine the magnitude of the total torque on the coil.
The coil dimensions are a length of 6 cm and a width of 4 cm.

Solution
Given B = 5.5 104 T, angle = 450, N = 20 turns, current I = 150 103 A.
Area of the coil will be A = l b = (6.0 102 4 102) = 2.4 103 m2.
Use:
= BAIN cos
= 5.5 10 4 2.4 10 3 150 10 3 20 cos 45 0
= 2.8 10 6 Nm
Note that the direction of the torque could only be established through the motor rule,
knowing the direction of current flow.
Galvanometers
Both ammeter and voltmeter electric circuit measurement meters make use of the motor
principle. They are a form of galvanometer called the moving coil galvanometer, which uses
the current flowing through a coil placed in a magnetic field to generate a torque. The
current causing the torque is the circuit current being measured or at least a small portion of
it, as described in the calibration discussion in Chapter 22. The torque winds up a small spring
until the restoring force of the spring balances the torque. A needle attached to the coil
registers the final deflection position and allows the reading on a calibrated instrument scale.
The larger the circuit current being measured, the larger the needle deflection. The moving
coil galvanometer is illustrated in Figure 25.27.
pointer Figure 25.27
scale calibration The galvanometer.
4 8
view from above
2 force
10
current
0
X up
B
current
down force
permanent
magnet I
coil on axis coil current

torque inputs
springs I
The coil usually moves freely around a fixed soft iron cylinder or armature. When used in
conjunction with curved magnetic pole pieces, which produce a radial magnetic field, the
galvanometer is much more sensitive. This also ensures that some of the field always lies at
right angles to the coil, which means that the turning force on the coil is almost independent
of the coils position. It was John Schweigger of Germany, in 1928, who constructed the first
working galvanometer of the moving coil design.
Electric motors
Electric meters use the torque on a current-carrying coil in a magnetic field to move a scale
pointer. The turning force, as weve seen, would cause the coil to reverse on itself, if the coil
was allowed to rotate too far. A DC motor is a device that makes use of the motor principle

Figure 25.28 coil

A split-ring commutator.
N S
split ring brush

I I
contact
axis of
rotation
+
but contains a special switch assembly on the rotating coil shaft that allows the direction of
the current through the coil to be reversed every 180. This switch is called a split-ring
commutator and is shown in simplified form in Figure 25.28.
This commutator consists of two semicircular contacts mounted on the motor shaft. These
contacts are connected directly to the turns of the motor coil. Electric current from an
external circuit flows into contact via a carbon brush, which presses against the contact and
slides over it as the shaft rotates. Current leaves the coil through a second brush on the
opposite side of the shaft. As the motor rotates through the position where the coil lies
across the field, each brush loses contact with one side of the commutator split ring and
almost immediately reconnects to the other commutator contact. This occurs twice in every
single rotation, at which time the current flow through the coil reverses and the motor con-
tinues to be rotated under the action of a torque of constant direction. The carbon brushes
will eventually wear out due to friction but can easily be replaced in more expensive electric
motor designs. In cheaper motors, such as found in some toys, the brushes are actually just
metal sliding contacts to the commutator and will eventually wear down so that the whole
electric motor becomes useless.
The earliest known examples of a patent for an electric motor is US patent No. 132,
granted on 25 February 1837, to Thomas Davenport of Brandon, Vermont. The patent was
titled, Improvements in propelling machinery by magnetism and electromagnetism. According
to the description contained in the specification, the motor, which is intended to be driven by
a galvanic battery, is constructed on sound electromagnetic principles.
In large commercial DC motors the permanent magnets are usually replaced with electro-
magnets because these can produce much greater magnetic field strengths. The electro-
magnetic coils are called the stators and are fixed in relation to the rotating armature
windings, which are wound onto a segmented commutator. Multiple winding sets are used on
a laminated armature in order to obtain a very smooth output torque from the motor.
Three major types of DC motors exist: permanent-magnet, shunt-wound and compound-
wound motors.
Permanent-magnet DC motors have an armature winding and use permanent magnets
for the field. In this type of motor you need to be able to reverse the connections to the
armature winding in order to have the motor run in reverse. This can be done in practice with
a contactor (high current relay) or four power modules in a bridge configuration, which would
allow for electronic reversal of the armature voltage.
Shunt-wound DC motors have an armature winding via brushes and commutator, and a
separate field winding that provides a magnetic field in which the armature rotates. Forward,
reverse or no current is applied to the field winding in order to control rotation direction in
the motor. It is usual for the field winding current to be much less than the armature current,
but the field winding coil has a higher inductance so it stores a lot of energy.

In the compound-wound DC motor there is an armature winding, a field winding that is

in series with the armature and a separate shunt field winding. This configuration allows even
more motor rotation control but is more expensive to manufacture.
The use of DC motors in wheelchairs and motorised gophers has enabled people with
physical disabilities to move about with greater freedom. A typical motorised gopher incor-
porates a pair of 12 V motorcycle-type batteries connected to a permanent magnet 24 V DC
motor of high torque characteristics. A switch system allows the connection of either 12 V or
24 V for low and high speed operation. Braking is usually provided by the torque of the DC
motor itself and wheel rotation is by a common chain drive system. These vehicles are becom-
ing more common in the community, providing assistance to arthritis sufferers and others
with immobilising disabilities. The gopher vehicle has a 24 V DC motor made by the Rae
Corporation of McHenry Illinois, USA, and is rated at a maximum of 9.88 A, 354 rpm and a
torque of 0.4 N m. Photo 25.4
Compact disc players need to provide a constant linear velocity of the pickup laser head Gopher vehicle.
across the surface of the CD. Because the encoded information on the disc has to be read at
a constant rate, the disc motor has to spin faster when the head is at the centre compared
with at the outer rim of the disc. A typical CD motor needs to spin the disc at between 200
and 500 rpm. This is achieved through microprocessor control electronics and a variable speed
DC servo-motor. This is a good example of the interaction between modern digital electronics
and motor technology.
Stepper motors are used in robotics and control systems. A stepper motor is designed to
rotate through a given series of angles in small steps when driven by pulsed DC. Again, very
small, powerful permanent magnets and electromagnets are used as the basis for stepper
motors.
Victoria was the first state in Australia to use electric trains in 1918. Modern Victorian
electric trains use 1500 V DC motors rated at 124 kW. In a typical train of about six carriages
there will be 16 motors developing a total power output of about 2 MW. Electric trains are now
commonplace across other parts of Australia and world-wide. The most common motor design
for their use is an AC induction motor, which is more efficient and, because brushes are not
necessary, requires less maintenance.
AC induction motors
The AC induction motor rotates because of the interaction of magnetic fields of the rotor and
the stator. In this type of motor, the stator windings are connected to an AC supply in one or
three phase form. By applying a voltage across the winding, a radial rotating magnetic field
is formed. The rotor has layers of conductive strands along its periphery. These strands are
short-circuited to form conductive closed loops. The rotating magnetic fields produced by the
stator induce a current into the conductive loops of the rotor. Once that occurs, the magnetic
field causes forces to act on the current-carrying conductors, which results in a torque on the
rotor.
The simplicity of the AC induction motor is that the currents in the rotor do not have to
be supplied by commutator, as they do in a DC motor. The velocity of the rotating magnetic
field of the stator can be calculated with the formula below:
V = 120 . f / p, where p is the number of poles and f is the frequency
The rotor reacts to the magnetic field, but does not travel at the same speed. The rotor
speed actually lags behind the speed the magnetic field. The term slip quantifies the slower
speed of the rotor in comparison with the magnetic field. The rotor is not locked into any
position and therefore will continue to slip throughout the motion. The amount of slip
increases proportionally with increases in load, thus open loop induction motor systems are
not particularly stable in rotation speed.

Photo 25.5 There is a variety of different types of induction motors, differing mainly by the number
AC induction motor. of phases and the winding type. Some of the more common names are shaded pole, split
phase, capacitor start, two value capacitor, permanent split capacitor, two phase, three phase
star, three phase delta and three phase single voltage. We will not get into the differences
here. You might like to find out the differences on the Web.
AC induction motors have had greatest use in industrial applications where precise speed
control is not needed (such as pumps, fans and conveyors). The induction motor can be con-
nected directly to a 50 Hz or 60 Hz commercial main, making a system very inexpensive.
Today, more and more induction motors are being controlled by AC variable speed drives
(inverter). These drives can control the frequency of the AC supply fed to the windings,
making the induction motor a controlled velocity device more like the DC motor previously
discussed. Refer to Photo 25.5 for the internal design of a typical 18 W electric fan motor.
M OV I N G C H A R G E S I N M A G N E T I C F I E L D S 25.7
An electric current is the result of a flow of charge. Therefore, if a current in a conductor
experiences a force due to the presence of a magnetic field, then so should a single charge as
it moves through a field. The fact that this is so can be easily demonstrated by carefully
bringing a magnet up to the screen of a black and white TV. (Best not to do this with a colour
TV!) The electron beam producing the TV image will be shifted considerably by the nearby
magnet and a distortion of the picture will be seen. The direction of movement of a beam of
negative electrons in a magnetic field can be predicted using the right-hand motor rule, but
remember that electrons move in a direction opposite to that of conventional positive
charges, so you must point your extended thumb in the opposite direction to the travel of the
electron beam. An electron beam consists, of course, of many individual electrons and their
behaviour when in a constant magnetic field is shown in Figure 25.29.
Figure 25.29 B (into page)
Force on charged particles.
F

q F original path
v
electrons
F
radius of r
curvature
final path
The size of the force exerted is found to depend on:

the size of the charge C in coulombs
the velocity of the charges in m s1
the strength of the field, B, in tesla.
Recall that the maximum force produced on a current-carrying conductor is:
F = BIL
q
but I = or rate of flow of charge, hence:
t
F = BqL = Bqv where v is the particle velocity

t

The force on the moving charge will be acting constantly to change its direction of
travel. In fact, the force is always directed at right angles to the instantaneous direction
of travel. Recall that this is the precise requirement for centripetal motion. Thus, if a moving
charge enters a magnetic field it will be curved into a circular path of travel. If the strength
of the field is strong enough the charged particle may be constrained to move in a completely
circular path within the field and may never escape. Mathematically:
2
F = qvB = FC = mv
r
where r is the radius of path in m; m is the mass of the charged particle in kg.
Thus, to calculate the radius of curvature of any charged particle in a magnetic field we
obtain:
r = mv
qB
Note that this effect will occur for all charged particles, not just simple electrons. This
effect has very useful practical applications, especially where charged particles or ions
are concerned.
Example
In the diagram of Figure 25.29 the charged particles are protons of mass 1.67 1027 kg. They
enter the magnetic field of strength B = 3.0 102 T at a velocity of 2.5 105 m s1.
Determine:
(a) the force acting on the protons
(b) the radius of curvature of their path in the field.
Solution
(a) Use the charge on the proton as 1.6 1019 C and the formula:
F = qvB
F = 3.0 10 2 1.6 10 19 2.5 10 5
F = 1.2 10 15 N upward
(b) Use the radius formula:
r = mv
qB
r = 1.67 10
27 2.5 10 5
1.6 10 19 3.0 10 2
r = 8.7 10 2 m
The mass spectrometer

The mass spectrometer is an instrument used by physicists and chemists to separate gaseous
ions or isotopes in a magnetic field according to their masses. The technique allows the
measurement of atomic and molecular masses (Figure 25.30). Charged ions are produced by
electron bombardment. If a mixture of ions or isotopes of different mass and charge enter the
magnetic field region, they will be curved into paths of different radii. The position at which
they strike the detector and the number of particles in a particular strike location on the
photographic plate or electronic detector can be used to determine relative masses.

Figure 25.30
Mass spectrometer. B
high
detector voltage
plate ions
source
Particle accelerators
In the study of atomic particles, or high-energy physics, scientists require atom-smashing
machines. These large accelerators, used in places such as Fermilab near Chicago in the USA
and the Centre for European Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, are used to study the colli-
sions of highly energetic particles in order to learn about the structure of matter. You might
look ahead to Chapter 29. Many of these large accelerators use powerful magnetic fields to
deflect the charged particles into circular paths. One of the earliest devices, called a
cyclotron, is shown in Figure 25.31. It was originally developed in 1930 by Ernest O. Lawrence
(190158) at the University of California, Berkeley. The cyclotron was used to keep protons
and other charged particles moving in circles. For its design, Lawrence won the 1939 Nobel
prize for physics. A cyclotron has two D-shaped cavities called dees. As protons cross the
region between the dees, a high voltage accelerates them. They move in an ever-increasing
radius path until finally, at very high energy, they are allowed to exit the cyclotron and inter-
act with special target nuclei. More modern versions of the original cyclotron are called
synchrocyclotrons, synchrotrons, tevatrons and supercolliders.
Figure 25.31 target
Cyclotron accelerator.
B
dees S
proton
source
high frequency
AC
Nuclear research
One of the most active areas of research today is in the field of nuclear fusion. Scientists try
to create and maintain the nuclear fusion reaction that drives the Sun. In order to do this,
physicists need to hold extremely hot deuterium plasma (109 K) inside a closed container. Not
an easy job! Some success has been gained with devices like the Joint European Torus (JET)
experimental fusion reactor, which is basically a magnetic bottle container in which the hot
charged plasma is confined within a highly evacuated toroidal chamber by extremely power-
ful superconducting electromagnets. These types of reactors are based on the Tokomak field
shape in which the plasma circulates around the torus. Presently these reactors require more
energy input than is released during the brief periods of actual fusion that take place;
however, they could prove to be an extremely valuable energy resource in the future.

Activity 25.4 BIG MACHINES

1 Use your library resources to research the following structures and find out their
purpose:
An AC induction motor.
A Tokomak design nuclear fusion reactor.
The worlds most powerful atom smasher, the 2 km diameter (TeV) proton
synchrotron at Fermilab, near Illinois, USA.
The worlds largest particle accelerator, the CERN electronpositron
supercollider in Geneva, Switzerland at 26.7 km diameter.
2 Find out what a medical synchrotron instrument is capable of doing. In what
field of medical diagnosis and treatment is it used? Are there any located in
Australia?
Questions
18 Figure 25.32 shows a simplified DC motor assembly. If length AB is 0.07 m and
the magnetic field strength is 0.35 T:
(a) what direction will the coil rotate when a current of 10.5 A flows;
(b) redraw the diagram to illustrate the type and purpose of a commutator;
(c) what is the maximum force acting on coil side AB?
B C Figure 25.32
For question 18.
0.05 m
A
D
N
S
+
I
I
19 A charged particle q = 3.0 1019 C and of mass 5.65 1027 kg moves through a
uniform magnetic field of 0.35 T at a velocity of 0.001c. Deduce:
(a) the maximum force which may act on this particle;
(b) the particle centripetal acceleration.
20 Particles X, Y and Z are all equally charged and moving at the same speeds into a Figure 25.33
magnetic field oriented as shown in Figure 25.33. The paths of curvature in the For question 20.
field are shown. Hence determine: B

X
(a) the polarity of the charges X, Y and Z from the information given;
(b) the particle that has the greatest mass. Explain your reasoning.
Y
Practice questions Z
*21 The Earths magnetic field at three different locations in Australia is given
below. Explain the differences and suggest a reason for the strongest field being
at Hobart. Estimate a value for the field strength at Brisbane and at Melbourne.
What factors might affect the actual value at these locations?
Darwin 46 106 T at dip angle of 39.
Perth 58 106 T at dip angle of 66.
Hobart 66 106 T at dip angle of 73.
*22 Using the domain theory, explain why you should not keep your constantly-used
audio and video tapes under your bed in a cardboard box into which you have to
constantly rummage around in order to find the one you want.

Figure 25.34 *23 What is the total magnetic flux passing through an area measuring 15 cm by
For question 24. 15 cm if the flux density, B, is 5.0 104 T?
(a) *24 The diagrams of Figure 25.34 (a, b and c) illustrate possible electromagnets. In
A B each case state what the magnetic polarity of ends A and B are.
*25 Two parallel conductors are separated by a distance of 1.5 cm. If they carry
currents of 2.5 A and 3.5 A respectively, in the same direction, calculate the
+
force acting per metre of length and state the direction of the force as attractive
(b) A B or repulsive.
*26 A power line carries a current of 100 A from east to west. The Earths magnetic
field is 40 T directed from south to north, inclined downward at 60 to the
horizontal. What is the magnitude and direction of the force on each 10 m
length of the power line?
+ *27 A long straight conductor carries a constant DC current in a uniform magnetic
field of 30 T north. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the DC current if
(c)
at a point 5.0 cm above the conductor the net magnetic field is zero.
A B
*28 Figure 25.35 shows a 10 turn circular loop carrying an input current of 10 A
flowing east. If the current circulates clockwise, what is the field strength at
+ point X, the centre of the loop?
*29 Make neat sketches of the magnetic fields surrounding the following devices:
(a) A horseshoe magnet.
(b) Two bar magnets with their south poles facing each other end-on.
Figure 25.35 (c) A long multi-turn air-cored solenoid coil.
For question 28.
*30 Explain how a moving coil loudspeaker works. Predict the changes that are
10 turns
necessary to convert a moving coil loudspeaker into a microphone input
transducer.
I = 10 A X I = 10 A **31 Suppose that your wrist-watch remains undamaged by a magnetic flux density of
less than 8.0 T. If you were a tourist in Melbourne, is it safe to walk under the
tramway overhead cables, which carry currents of 500 A? Explain your reasons.
10 cm **32 A coil of wire is suspended from a spring balance between the poles of two magnets.
The coil is rectangular with dimensions 80 cm high and 10 cm wide, and has
100 turns of wire. In an experiment the spring balance readings were recorded
for different currents. The apparatus and results are given in Figure 25.36.
Plot a graph of force (N) versus current (A) and answer these questions:
(a) What is the weight of the coil?
(b) What is the magnetic field strength?
(c) Is the current direction clockwise or anticlockwise?
(d) If the current is adjusted so that the balance reads zero, what current flows
in the coil and in which direction does it flow?
Figure 25.36
For question 32.
spring
balance
Force (N) Current (A)
3.5 0.5
5.0 1.5
A
+ 5.6 2.0
6.8 3.0
7.5 3.5
8.3 4.0
9.5 5.0
N S


***33 In an experiment to determine the mass of an electron, a vacuum valve tube
with a central negative filament and an outer positively charged electrode is
used to provide a source of electrons. The potential difference between this
electrode and the filament is 200 V. This apparatus is placed into the magnetic
field of an open solenoid coil so that the electrons leaving the filament are
Figure 25.37
For question 33.
curved into a circular path, as shown in Figure 25.37. Deduce: negative
(a) the direction of the magnetic field; filament
(b) the kinetic energy of the electrons reaching the outer electrode;
(c) the equation for the radius of curvature of the path of the electrons positive
+ anode +
assuming circular deflection:
(d) the mass of an electron as determined by this apparatus if B = 0.02 T and a glass envelope
measured radius of curvature is 2.5 mm.
***34 A metal rod XY is 5.0 cm long. It lies on two metal rails connected to a DC
supply. The rod and rails are balanced on a flat insulator base in a magnetic field
of strength 0.20 T. A current is then passed through the rod causing a downward
movement. If a mass, m, of 1.0 g is needed to restore the system to a level
position, as shown in Figure 25.38, calculate the direction and magnitude of the
current in rod XY. Use g = 9.8 m s2.
Figure 25.38
For question 34.
B X B
m
10 cm
10 cm
pivot
***35 An electric motor consists of a 100-turn coil of wire on a former that is free to
rotate in a radial field, as shown in Figure 25.39. The field strength is 25.0 mT
and the coil dimensions are 0.32 m length and 0.1 m width. The effective voltage
driving the motor is 120 V DC. If each of the turns on the coil has an effective
resistance of 0.018 , determine:
(a) the current flow from the power supply;
(b) the effective torque supplied by the motor.
Figure 25.39
0.1 m For question 35.
2m
N 0.3 coil
former

***36 The mass spectrometer dates back to the work of J.J. Thompson in England in
1912. A specimen to be analysed is ionised and passed into a magnetic field.
Physicists use an m/e ratio to label the spectrum produced. Although the ions
are bent into a circular path by the field, heavy ions are bent less than light
ones and ions with a low charge, for example 1+, are bent less than ions with
more charge, for example 2+. (Figure 25.40(a) and (b).) The m/e ratio is the
atomic mass divided by the charge. In figure (a) the m/e ratios are 8 and 16
respectively. The greater the m/e ratio, the greater the distance from the slit.
(a) Figure (c) represents the spectrum of helium consisting of four ions.
Label each ion 42He2+ : 42He+ : 32He2+ : 32He+ with the corresponding letter
from the spectrum.
(b) Figure (d) represents a spectrum from a sample mixture of mercury ions,
Hg+ : Hg+2 : Hg2+ from either of the isotopes of mercury. Label the formula
Figure 25.40 of the ions to each of the seven spectral lines.
For question 36.
(a) (c)
B
slit a b c d
2+ +
Helium spectrum 4
He
2
4
2He He2+
3
2
3
2He+
16
slit O2 16
O
slit
ion source
(d)
Oxygen ions
200 204
Isotopes: 80 Hg or 80 Hg
(b)
B Mercury spectrum Hg +
: Hg+2 : Hg2+
1
slit H+ 2
H+
ion source
Hydrogen ions

CHAPTER 26
Electromagnetic Induction
26.1 INTRODUCTION
Since physicists like Oersted and Ampere had shown that an electric current could produce a
magnetic motor effect, Michael Faraday predicted that the reverse situation must be true;
hence quite a lot of his research was into electromagnetic induction. This is where a
magnet is made to produce a flowing electric current as the result of an induced EMF. The dis-
covery of electromagnetic induction is credited to Faraday on 29 August 1831 with a device
described in an entry in his diary, Experiments on the production of electricity from magnet-
ism. Physicist Joseph Henry is reported to have discovered the phenomenon of self-induction
in 1830, but through his failure to publish his research, credit was given to Michael Faraday.
It is interesting to look at Faradays original notes in his diary referring to his experi-
ments because the discovery of electromagnetic induction has led directly to the development
of the rotary electric generator, which converts mechanical motion into electrical energy. This
discovery has certainly led to the modern electrical age as we know it today. His diary entry
reads:
Have had an iron ring made, round and one-eighth inch thick and ring 6 inches in diameter. Wound
many coils of copper wire round one half, the coil is being separated by twine and calico there
were 3 lengths of wire each about 24 feet long and they could be connected as one length or used
as separate lengths. By trial with a trough each was insulated from the other. Will call this side of
the ring A. On the other side but separated by an interval was wound wire in two pieces together
amounting to about 60 feet in length, the direction being as with the former coils: this side call B.
Charges a battery of 10 pr plates 4 inches square. Made the coil on B side one coil and
connected its extremities by a copper wire passing to a distance and just over a magnetic needle
(3 feet from the iron ring). Then connected the ends of one of the pieces on A side with battery;
immediately a sensible effort on needle. It oscillated and settled at last in original position. On
breaking connection of A side with battery again a disturbance of the needle happened.
Made all the wires on A side one coil and sent current from the battery through the whole.
Effect on needle much stronger than before.
These words of Michael Faraday describe the very first transformer experiment and really
represent the start of electrical technology. In this chapter we will look closely at electro-
magnetic induction, generators and transformers, as well as electrical power transmission.
26.2 L AW S O F E L E C T R O M A G N E T I C I N D U C T I O N
Faradays law
As we found in the previous chapter, when a conductor, such as a wire, moves through
the pole gap of a magnet, the electrons in the wire that are free to move will experience a
force along the length of the wire (Figure 26.1). As electrons shift to one end of the wire, we
are left with a net excess of negative charge at that end and a net excess of positive charge

at the other. This leads to a potential difference or EMF across the ends of the wire and
current will flow in any external circuit, which can be shown with a sensitive galvanometer.
The direction of flow can be determined using the right-hand rule.
Figure 26.1 In external circuit
Electromagnetic induction.
N I
l
+++ +
+
+++
EMF
V

motion
of I
wire G
S I
Conventional current flow
Notice in Figure 26.1 that for a maximum induced EMF and its consequent induced
current, the conductor needs to be moved perpendicular to the lines of magnetic flux. We say
that the magnetic flux lines are being cut in a perpendicular direction for maximum induced
voltage. Alternatively, there will be no induced voltage across the ends of the wire if the
movement of the conductor is parallel to the lines of flux. It is also important to realise that
the effect also occurs if the conductor is held still and the magnetic field is moved perpen-
dicular to the wire. Hence, what is really important is relative motion between the magnetic
field and the conductor. This principle is often stated as Faradays law of electromagnetic
induction:
When the magnetic field in the region of a conductor changes, an electromotive force
or EMF is induced across the ends of the conductor. If the conductor is made part
of a complete circuit then an induced current will flow.
An easy way to visualise this rule in terms of the separation of charge is to imagine a
small test positive charge sitting within the conductor. As the conductor is moved this test
charge moves in a direction as given by the thumb in the RH motor rule. The extended fingers
point in the direction of the magnetic flux lines and the palm pushes in a direction that
shows the way the test positive charge itself moves in the wire. Hence, the polarity of
the EMF is established within the conductor and this will determine the direction of flow of
conventional current in any external circuit, as shown in Figure 26.1.
Self-induction
Figure 26.2
Inductor self-induction. inductor (L) s
+

induced
EMF
+
original
current flow
Another method of varying the magnetic field is by using an electromagnet that provides a
variable magnetic field. This method has greater application in electric generators and in
transformers and will be discussed later in the chapter. Before we consider Faradays law
mathematically, consider another interesting situation. When a current is made to flow
through any conductor, especially a solenoid coil, the external magnetic field produced will
itself induce a voltage across the ends of the coil. This is called self-induction and was
Electromagnetic Induction 577

discussed in relation to inductor components in Chapter 23, Electronics. This self-induced

voltage is always opposite in direction to the applied voltage causing current to flow through
the solenoid coil in the first instance (Figure 26.2). The induced voltage tends to limit the Enemy submarines used to be
original current, resulting in a form of resistance. Electric self-induction is analogous to detected by electromagnetic
mechanical inertia. An induction or choke coil tends to smooth out varying currents in a induction. The process involved
laying long lengths of electrical
circuit just like a flywheel tends to smooth out the jerky rotation of an engine. The amount
cable on the seafloor at the
of self-inductance of any coil is measured in a unit called the henry, named after Joseph entrance to important harbours.
Henry. The self-inductance property of an inductor coil is determined solely by the geometry Submarines, like all ships,
of the coil and by the magnetic properties of its core. You might like to refer back to the become magnetised as they are
section on inductors in Chapter 23. being built and as they travel
though the Earths magnetic
field. When they pass over these
Faradays law quantitatively loops of cable a small voltage
is induced (in the order of
Figure 26.3 microvolts) and this is recorded
Faradays law. at the shore station. One of
+A these shore stations still
N exists on Bribie Island
+
(see Photo 26.1). The layout
E of the loops is as follows.
B B Imagine that a submarine
A EMF was magnetised north on its
+ polarity
l ++++ underside (as they mostly were),
and it passed over the loop
V
B arrangement from left to right.
The following magnetic
signature would be obtained if
a CRO was connected to the
G
two wires at the bottom.
S
s
Let us now consider Faradays law mathematically. Refer to Figure 26.3, showing a conductor
in motion between the poles of a horseshoe magnet. Consider the free electron charges within
the metallic conductor of length l being moved perpendicular to the field lines at a velocity v.
The magnetic force acting on each moving electron is given by:
A B C D E F G
where B = magnetic field strength in teslas; q = charge on the electron in coulombs;
v = velocity of motion in m s1.
F B = qvB Explain how the location of

the ship in its passage over
the loops matches with the
This force has a direction such that the electrons are pushed towards end B as the con- signature. More information,
ductor is moved. This leaves end A equally charged but positive. As the charges build up at photos and a solution can be
each end, AB, of the conductor, an electric field E is set up within the conductor, which found on the textbook website
begins to oppose the free flow of electrons. Movement of electrons and separation of charge under the link antisubmarine
will continue to occur until the magnitude of the electric force is equal to the magnetic force. loops.
That is, until:
but as the electric force is given by:
FE = FB
F E = qE

Photo 26.1 hence:

Shore station at Bribie Island,
Queensland. qE = qvB, or E = vB
but as the electric field strength is also given by the relationship:
E = V = EMF
d L
where EMF is the induced voltage in volts and L is the conductor length in metres.
We can arrive at an expression for the magnitude of the induced EMF as:
EMF = BLv
or if the conductor is not at right angles to the field, the net EMF is reduced, becoming:
EMF = BLv sin
If the switch in Figure 26.3 is closed, conventional current will flow from end A through
the galvanometer to end B but, again, only while the conductor is physically being moved in
relation to the magnetic field.
Example
Figure 26.4 Consider Figure 26.4, showing a conductor of length 50 cm moving at right angles to a
magnetic field directed out of the page as shown. If the magnetic field strength is 5.6 mT and
B
the conductor is moving at a velocity of 4.5 m s1 across the flux lines, calculate:
(a) the induced EMF across the conductor AB;
A 0.5 m B
(b) the direction of current flow in the galvanometer circuit AGB.
Solution
V (a) Use the equation for induced EMF:
G
EMF = BLv
EMF = 5.6 10 3 0.5 4.5
EMF = 1.26 10 2 V
Note that the polarity will be A positive, B negative and thus:

(b) in the external circuit conventional current will flow from A through G to B or
anticlockwise around the external circuit.
Solenoids
Figure 26.5
Induction with a solenoid.
S rapid motion
N
coil on G needle
former pulses

Figure 26.5 illustrates a solenoid connected to a galvanometer. This equipment is easy to

obtain in the laboratory and you might like to set it up as a demonstration while going over
the next bit of theory. An interesting effect is noted on the galvanometer as a bar magnet is
rapidly inserted into, and withdrawn from, the air core of the solenoid. The needle of the
meter is seen to flick one way and then the other, as shown. How can we explain this in terms
of induction? Recall that relative motion between a conductor and a magnetic field is
important if an EMF is to be induced. In this apparatus, the coils of the solenoid cut the lines
of magnetic flux and while the magnet is moved a pulse of electric current will be produced.
When the magnet is withdrawn, a second, opposite polarity pulse is induced as the solenoid
again cuts the lines of flux. When the coil and magnet are stationary, even if for an instant,
there is no induced current and the galvanometer needle returns to its zero point. A quite
sensitive galvanometer is needed to show this effect, as the EMF and currents produced are
very small.
Lenzs law
In the operation of the apparatus of Figure 26.5 it will be observed that the direction of the
galvanometer needle pulse of current is reversed when the magnet is pushed into and pulled
out of the solenoid. It will also be noticed that if the north pole of the magnet is pushed into
the solenoid firstly, and then the magnet reversed and the south pole pushed in, the direc-
tions of the galvanometer needle deflections are reversed also. Check this out. Furthermore,
if a very powerful magnet is used and a very large solenoid coil with thousands of turns, it
will be noticed that considerable force and effort would be needed to push the magnet into
the solenoid at all! It appears that nature is trying to prevent, or oppose, the induction of
current flowing through the coil. The Russian physicist Heinrich Lenz (180464) first
explained the direction of the induced current in a solenoid coil as the result of a changing
magnetic field. He used the notion of nature trying to oppose any applied force. Lenzs law,
as it is referred to today, really states that nature does not provide something for nothing! In
the field of electromagnetics, Lenzs law states that:
The current induced in a conductor by a changing magnetic field is in such a direction

that its own induced magnetic field opposes the change that produced it.
Refer to Figure 26.6.

Figure 26.6
motion out
needle Lenzs law.

motion in
S S
N N
repulsion
attraction
N S
B B
induced induced
induced
induced
current
current
G G
S N
Lenzs law is only one expression of a fundamental law of nature. In biology you will meet
negative feedback if a light is shone in your eye, your pupil opposes the change and
closes up. In chemistry you will meet Le Chateliers principle in chemical equilibrium. They
all work in the same way. When an induced current flows through the solenoid and the
galvanometer, the magnetic field produced by the solenoid has a polarity that repels the
incoming permanent magnet pole.

Of course, Lenzs law operates just as effectively when the permanent magnet is pulled
out of the solenoid. Now the direction of the induced current in the solenoid is such that the
When you swing an aluminium magnetic field produced tries to attract the withdrawing permanent magnet back inside the
baseball bat through the Earths coil again. In both situations a force needs to be exerted and work needs to be done in order
magnetic field a small voltage is to continue to move the magnet. It is this work done that is the origin of the induced
induced. Estimate the voltage
electrical energy. We are really transforming mechanical energy into electrical energy and this
produced, by making some
principle is the basis of all electric generators. The big problem is how to organise for a
assumptions about the size of
the field, its direction, the
continuous flow of electrical energy from a generator apparatus and not just single electric
direction and speed of the current pulses. This problem is examined in Section 26.3.
swing, and the size of the bat.
These values should all be
stated in your answer.
Magnetic flux
Recall the concept of magnetic flux, , from Chapter 25. The magnetic flux in a region of
space is the product of both the magnetic field strength, B, and the effective area, A cos ,
which is perpendicular to the direction of the field, namely:
= B A cos
and is measured in webers (Wb).

A mathematical statement of Faradays law of electromagnetic induction can now
be made, involving the notion of induced EMF and current direction as formulated by Lenz,
namely:
The EMF induced in a loop is directly proportional to the rate at which the magnetic
flux through the loop changes with time
or mathematically as:
EMF = = (B A)
t t
where the negative sign indicates the opposition factor.

If the loop contains N turns, then the EMF is increased by a factor of N. Notice that this
equation states that an EMF will be induced if either the magnetic field strength or the area
threaded changes with time or, in fact, if both factors change. This law really gives a method
for producing an electric generator as all that is needed is a continuously rotating coil.
Example
Consider the apparatus of Figure 26.7. It shows a metal rod AB resting on conducting rails
connected to a galvanometer CD. The apparatus is sitting in a magnetic field, as shown.
Figure 26.7 20 cm
A B = 2.0 102 Wb m2
D into page
area B
20 cm G
rail
C
B
(a) Will there be an induced EMF across AB, if the magnetic field changes from a
value of 2.0 102 Wb m2 to zero in a time of 5.0 ms?
(b) Calculate the value of the EMF and the direction of the induced current around
the loop ABCD.
(c) If the rod now is moved to the right at a velocity of 5 102 m s1, with the
magnetic field remaining constant at its initial value, will there be an induced
EMF across AB now?

(d) Calculate the value of the EMF and the direction of the induced current around
ABCD for the case in (c).
Solution
(a) Yes, there will be an induced EMF across AB, as the magnetic field strength, B,
changes with time.
(b) Use:
|EMF| = (BA) = B A as area is constant

t t
= 2.0 10 0.2 0.2

2
5.0 10 3
|EMF| = 0.16 V
Lenzs law will require the decreasing magnetic field to be opposed, hence the
induced current around the loop will produce its own field to reinforce the original
field lines. This requires a clockwise flow of conventional current around ABCD.
(c) Yes, there will be an induced EMF across AB again, because this time the area A
is changing even though the magnetic field is constant.
(d) Its value is calculated by using:
|EMF| = BA as B is constant
t
but area is changing because side DA is increasing at the rod velocity. Hence:
|EMF| = B DC v AB
EMF = 2.0 10 2 0.2 5.0 10 2
EMF = 2.0 10 4 volts
In this instance, current will flow through AB so as to produce a force that

opposes the applied force moving the rod to the right. Using the RH motor rule,
the direction of conventional current must be from B to A. Hence, current flow is
anticlockwise around the loop BADC.
Questions
1 Define the terms electromagnetic induction, Faradays law, Lenzs law, induced
voltage.
2 A conductor of length 55 cm is moving through a magnetic field of 3.6 102 T.
What is the EMF induced between the ends of the conductor:
(a) if it is moved perpendicularly to the field at a velocity of 12 m s1;
(b) if it is moved at an angle of 30 to the field at the same velocity? Figure 26.8
For question 3.
3 Figure 26.8 illustrates a conductive metal square coil positioned within a
magnetic field of strength 150 mT. If the coil has side AB = 5 cm and is moved
A B
sideways at 8.5 m s1, calculate:
(a) the voltages induced across each of the sides of the coil AB, BC, CD, DA;
(b) whether an induced current will flow around this coil as it is moved. V = 8.5 m s1
Explain. D C
4 Consider the apparatus of Figure 26.9. Predict the nature of the galvanometer
B into page
deflection when switch S is closed. What would occur if switch S is opened and
closed repeatedly?

Figure 26.9
For question 4. small solenoid
inside R +
VDC
s
Figure 26.10
Change in flux in a rotating coil: large
(a) coil horizontal; (b) coil vertical; solenoid
(c) the EMF waveform. G
(a) B
G E N E R AT I N G E L E C T R I C I T Y 26.3
A machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy is called a generator, alter-
nator or dynamo. All these machines rely on the induction principle between a coil and a
B = 0 magnetic field (Figure 26.10). A laboratory demonstration generator is shown in Photo 26.2.
rotation
Coil horizontal In Figure 26.10(a) the instantaneous flux through the flat coil is zero, but the rate at which
the flux is changing, , is maximal, so the induced EMF is maximal. In 26.10(b), however,
(b) B the instantaneous flux through the flat coil is maximal, but now the rate of change of flux,
, is minimal, so the induced EMF is at minimal. If the flat coil is made to rotate through a
full 360, the output induced EMF waveform at the commutators split ring will be very close
to a sinusoidal waveform. (Refer to Figure 26.10(c).)
The magnetic fields of permanent magnets are usually only strong enough to operate
small practical generators or motors. The larger devices employ electromagnets. All electrical
generators contain two structures:
the field coils, which are the magnetic field-producing coils or magnets
B = maximum the armature, which supports the coiled conductors that cut the magnetic field lines
Coil vertical and carry the induced current externally to commutators or sliprings. The armature is
(c) usually made of a laminated soft iron core around which are wound the coils.
+
Direct current (DC) generators
EMF
1 1 3 1 Figure 26.11
4 2 4
A simple DC generator and output.

full 360 turn
+
S
EMF
1 1 3 1
4 2 4
split ring
N +

full 360 turn
Photo 26.2 brushes
Demonstration generator.
Figure 26.11 illustrates the basic operation of a DC generator. To produce a steady flow of
induced current in one direction only from this device, it is necessary to provide a way
of reversing the current flow outside the generator every half-cycle of rotation. In older
machines this is accomplished by the split-ring commutator. The two halves of the metal
ring are insulated from each other and, through slipping contacts (brushes), serve as the
terminals of the armature coil. In newer machines this reversal is often accomplished using
power diode rectifiers, so in fact the DC generator internally is exactly the same as an AC
generator. In order to provide even further smoothed DC output, modern DC generators often

use drum armatures that consist of a large number of coil windings in longitudinal slits in the
armature core. These coils are then connected to an appropriate multiple segmented com-
mutator that allows contact to each coil in turn as the armature rotates. DC generators are
usually operated at low voltages to avoid the electrical discharge sparking that will occur
between brushes and commutator at higher voltages.
Activity 26.1 YOUR BICYCLE

Use the library or reference books to find a diagram of a bicycle dynamo. You might like
to compare this with an actual device from a bike, and try to answer these questions:
1 How is the dynamo turned?
2 How does the device produce electric current?
3 How could the output current be increased?
4 Does the voltage vary with speed?
Alternating current (AC) generator

Figure 26.12
A simple AC generator.
S
EMF
1 1 3 1
4 2 4
slip rings
N

full 360 turn
AC brushes
Figure 26.12 illustrates the difference between the DC and AC generator design. This AC
design has no commutator, with the armature coil being terminated simply at two sliprings.
In practical electrical engineering, the transmission of generated electrical energy is in the Car stereo amplifiers generally
form of alternating current, and so most large commercial generators are of the AC type, with need a higher voltage than the
the permanent magnet being replaced by electromagnetic field coils, energised by external 12 V DC provided by the car
DC sources of EMF. Low speed AC generators are often built with up to 100 poles to improve battery. How is this achieved if
transformers can only convert
their efficiency and produce the required output AC frequency, but high speed AC generators
AC. The term oscillating switch
most often are simple two-pole machines. It is common to refer to any AC generator as an
or switched-mode power supply
alternator. may give you a clue.
In Figure 26.12, if the coil is made to rotate continuously, then a continuous sinewave
AC voltage will be produced. Mathematically, the output AC voltage produced is given by the
sinusoidal equation:
E = E O sin t
where EO is the peak output voltage, given by:
EO = N A B
where N = number of turns in the coil; A = cross-sectional area of the coil in square metres;
B = magnetic field strength in tesla (T); = angular velocity = 2f, where f = frequency in
hertz (Hz).

Figure 26.13 rotor windings

A simplified AC alternator.
iron
stator
windings
AC output
High voltage alternators often use a design in which a stationary armature set of wind-
ings remains fixed in place, with field magnetic coils positioned on a rotor that revolves
inside the armature windings. This design reduces sparking and helps to prevent mechanical
failures (Figure 26.13). The current generated by all simple alternators follows a single sine
waveform called single phase alternating current. If the armature windings are composed of
a triple set of windings aligned at 120 to each other, the alternator will produce three phase
alternating current. This three phase system is the most commonly used for electrical power
generation and distribution. Three phase alternating current distribution will be discussed in
Section 26.5. Typical specifications for the large industrial AC generator that is used in power
stations throughout Australia are as follows:
Generator weight 350 to 400 tonnes
Generator rotation 3000 rpm at rotor
Rotor assembly electromagnet on steel, 15 m 1 m
Electromagnet field 2500 A producing 1.68 T
Generator output 500 MW at 24 kV (3 phase at 50 Hz)
Usually the rotor assembly is connected to a superheated, steam-driven, four cylinder turbine,
which itself may weigh 500600 tonnes. Steam pressure at the turbine is 16.8 MPa at 540.
Mini generator applications

Figure 26.14 magnet assembly
A moving coil microphone. headshell
audio
output
diaphragm moving coil assembly
Numerous applications for the principle of induction exist, with most of them being simple
AC generators. For example, a loudspeaker may be used in reverse to produce a moving coil
microphone. However, these microphones are more usually constructed as in Figure 26.14.
Sound vibrations cause the diaphragm plate to oscillate and move the coil within the poles
of the permanent magnet. This generates a small AC voltage, which is fed to an amplifier.
A similar structure is the basis of a magnetic stylus and cartridge for a record player. Of
course, today, CD players are more common in audio systems but high quality turntables are
still used by audiophiles. The principle of operation of the magnetic cartridge is that an
alternating voltage is induced as the pickup stylus is forced to vibrate when it passes along
the record grooves. This small AC voltage is again fed to an amplifier.

Some automatic marine navigation buoys generate electricity using the induced current
generated by relative motion of coils and magnets. As these devices bounce up and down in
the waves the inertia differences between a solenoid coil and a spring-loaded magnet allow
generation of an induced current, which is rectified and fed to batteries. These power navi-
gation lights are attached to the buoys. You might like to sketch how they would be made.
26.4 M U T UA L I N D U C T I O N A N D T R A N S F O R M E R S
Electromagnetic induction will also occur in the situation where the expanding or collapsing
magnetic field of an electromagnet solenoid coil cuts through a stationary conductor or
second coil. This type of induction between closely separated coils is called mutual induc-
tion. It is important in the construction of ignition coils and transformers.
B (inducing field) Figure 26.15
Mutual induction principle.
soft
iron
core N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A Year 9 student asks you: Does
induced a transformer convert voltage to
current
pulse current? What would you say, in
DC S
G producing language the student could
opposing flux understand?
Refer to Figure 26.15, showing two solenoid coils wound onto a common soft iron core.
When the switch is closed in the left-hand circuit a magnetic flux that is expanding is pro-
duced and cuts the right-hand circuit. This induces a voltage pulse across the ends of the
right-hand coil in such a way as to oppose this expanding flux, according to Lenzs law. No
voltage is induced when the current in the left-hand coil is constant. However, if the switch
is opened again, a collapsing magnetic flux now cuts the right-hand coil and again an
induced voltage, opposite in direction to the original pulse, is produced. In a car electric
ignition coil, the continuous switching action of the distributor points in the coils primary
circuit induces very high spark voltages in the coils secondary circuit. This high voltage is
passed in correct sequence via the distributor again to the engines spark plugs to fire the
fuelair mixture in the cylinders.
Transformers
laminated iron core Figure 26.16
A simple transformer and
its symbol.
secondary
coil VS
primary
coil NS
VP
NP circuit symbol
Another obvious method of producing continuously expanding and collapsing magnetic fields
is to use a primary circuit driven by AC current. This produces a transformer device that uses
mutual induction to vary AC voltages. Two coils called the primary and secondary are wound
onto a common soft iron core (Figure 26.16). The soft iron core concentrates the magnetic
flux lines threading both coils. If the primary coil is fed with AC voltages at a particular

frequency, an induced AC voltage of equal frequency will occur across the secondary
coil. Notice that there is no physical electrical connection between the two sets of coils or
windings. If the ratio of turns in the windings is varied, either a step-up or a step-down
transformer is produced. For any transformer operating under ideal conditions the following
relationship is determined by experiment:
VP NP
=
VS NS
where VP = AC voltage across the primary; VS = AC voltage across the secondary; NP = number
of primary turns; NS = number of secondary turns.
If NP > NS, then the transformer is a step-down, which reduces AC voltage.
If NP < NS then the transformer is a step-up, which increases AC voltage.
This discussion makes transformers sound like marvellous devices for varying AC voltages and
they are; however, energy is not created in these devices as the electrical power available at
the output is never greater than the electrical power supplied to the input of the transformer;
namely:
Input power = output power

VP IP = VS IS
In practice, although transformers are very efficient devices, there is always some
energy loss. When an AC current passes through the primary coil, tiny circulating currents
called eddy currents are set up in the soft iron core. This causes heating and represents lost
energy. The coil conductors also lose heat through ohmic heating due to coil resistances.
Practical transformers are constructed on a laminated soft iron core, where the core is made
from insulated flat iron sheets of correct shape. This technique helps to reduce eddy current
losses. Typical electromagnetic transformers are about 9095% efficient in operation.
Example
A transformer purchased from an electronics store is labelled as 240 V AC input, 56 V CT
@ 120 VA output. Calculate:
(a) the voltages available at the output;
(b) the maximum output current able to be drawn;
(c) the current drawn from the mains supply at maximum output.
Solution
(a) The term 56 V CT means that the secondary winding is centre tapped and thus the
56 volts is divided into a positive and a negative 28 volts with respect to the zero
volts centre tap. The full voltage available across the secondary would be 56 V.
(b) Use power rating P = V I = 120 V A.
Thus:
V S I S = 120
or I S = 120 = 120 = 2.1 A
VS 56
(c) Use:
V P I P = V S I S = 120 V A
or current drawn from the mains supply. I P = 120 = 120 = 0.5 A

VP 240

Transformers are extremely useful engineering devices as they allow for the changing or
transforming of AC voltages, not only in small construction circuits but on an electrical
energy production and distribution level. Mains distribution high voltage transformers are a
common sight on the poles of our suburban electricity networks. The earliest patent covering
the construction of a transformer appears to be that applied for in Britain by the team of
Carl Zipernowski, Max Deri and Otto Titus Blathy, all of Budapest, Hungary, on 27 April 1885,
numbered Patent No. 5201 under the title, Improvements in induction apparatus for trans-
forming electric currents. Max Deri, in the same year, applied for and received the first patent
for an electrical distribution transformer.
Activity 26.2 TRANSFORMERS

1 Transformers are one of the easiest components to recognise in old radios and
broken electrical appliances. See if you can get hold of one of these in order
to examine it closely. Make diagrams of what you see. Can you identify the
windings and the laminated core?
2 The grey boxes located on power poles in your street are the transformers.
Make a diagram of these boxes showing where all the wires go. Can you hear a
humming noise? What causes that?
Questions
5 Describe the differences in construction and design between a DC generator and
an alternator.
6 Why would it be dangerous to connect a step-down transformer in reverse, that
is, with the primary voltage connected across the secondary windings?
7 Explain the statement A motor run in reverse can act as a generator.
8 A square loop of wire of side 8 cm is rotated through 90 in a magnetic field of
2.5 102 T in 0.1 s. Calculate the average EMF induced.
9 If neon lights require at least 12 kV for their operation and operate from a 240 V
line, what is the turns ratio required of the transformer used? Would it be a
step-up or a step-down transformer?
10 The armature of a 50 Hz AC generator rotates in a 0.15 T magnetic field. If the
area of the coil is 2.0 102 m2 and the coil contains 150 turns, calculate the
peak output voltage, E0.
26.5 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

Because electricity generating stations are usually located at the sites of the primary fuels
for the turbine generators, most electricity needs to be distributed over very long distances. N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
This requires very large distribution networks, or grids as they are called. For example, very What does a power station sell
large power stations are located near coal fields in both Queensland and Victoria, and in New you: power, voltage, current or
South Wales and Tasmania they are located near large hydroelectric facilities. Often several energy (joules)? Who owns the
separate power stations are combined to supply power to the distribution grids. Figure 26.17 electrons in the wires from the
illustrates the typical Australian distribution network from the generating power station to power station to your power
the industrial or domestic consumer. point?
Modern power station AC generators deliver power at between 11 kV and 33 kV. In order
to distribute the electrical power, transformers at the station step up the voltage to typically
200 kV, 330 kV or 500 kV. These very high voltages are used because over long cable
distances, the loss of energy through ohmic heating is reduced. Recall that electrical power
loss is proportional to the square of the current (P = I 2R), so electrical engineers use very

Figure 26.17
A typical Australian
distribution network.
P OW E R S TAT I O N S
Power stations typically
generate AC at 11 kV to 33 kV, 11 kV
which is then transformer power station distribution
increased to 220500 kV. transformers
Power switches called circuit 15 m pylons
breakers are placed throughout 400500 kV
the distribution network to help 66 kV
to avoid damage due to
lightning strikes. Street poles
also often have a fused link to
help to avoid damage caused by
voltage surges and spikes.
zone district substation

substation transformers
11 kV
240 V
415 V
factory offices street houses

poles
I N V E S T I G AT I N G high voltages in order to keep the currents small and the power losses as heat to a minimum.
Refer to the data contained in Table 26.1 illustrating the power losses in a distribution system
As mentioned above, when
of 150 km, assuming a total cable resistance of 6 and a total power distributed of 500 MW.
electricity is distributed it is
The table shows the losses incurred as a percentage for different voltages.
stepped up to high voltages
(e.g. 275 kV) to reduce ohmic
losses and then later stepped Ta b l e 2 6 . 1 P OW E R L O S S E S I N A D I S T R I B U T I O N S Y S T E M
down for household or
industry use. System voltage 500 kV 220 kV 66 kV
Why dont they just generate it Current (P = VI) 1000 A 2270 A 7580 A
as 275 kV and cut the first step Power loss (I 2R) 6 MW 30.1 MW 345 MW
out? Engineers at your nearest Power loss (%) 1.2 6.0 70
power station may be able to
help. Why wouldnt you contact
Energex? At even higher voltages than 500 kV the losses would be less, but the increased chance
of high voltage discharge from the power cables to ground is regarded as unacceptable.
Atmospheric conditions such as moisture, rainfall and high winds also make power distribution
at even higher voltages impractical. In Australia the grid distribution voltages are stepped
down again at substations to voltages of 22 kV and 11 kV for distribution to local areas or
zone substations. Within the local neighbourhood, local electricity companies distribute
power via street poles at typically 415 VRMS three phase or 240 VRMS single phase to factories,

schools and houses. Local telegraph pole transformers do this job of stepping down from
11 kV and occasionally you may hear crackling in the vicinity of these pole transformers, espe-
cially in wetter climate conditions. This effect is generally nothing to worry about. The elec-
tricity supplied to our houses is AC at 240 VRMS 50 Hz through a pole fuse often protecting a
group of houses. Refer back to Chapter 22 for a discussion of household electricity and circuits.
If you investigate the nature of distribution electricity poles and towers in your local
neighbourhood, you will certainly notice quite a large number of porcelain or glass insulator
spacers and large encased oil filled transformers. Remember that even dry air breaks down
under high voltage and will conduct. This again could lead to distribution power losses if the
cables were not kept apart far enough. In the 500 kV transmission lines conductors need to
be at least 600 mm away from pylons and each other. At smaller voltages, the separations can
be reduced.
Figure 26.18
Power usage in Australia.
5000
Power usage (MW)
4000 winter
summer
3000
2000
2 am 6 am 10 am 2 pm 6 pm 10 pm
midnight 12 noon midnight
It is interesting to consider the changing demands of the electricity consumer over time.
The graphs in Figure 26.18 illustrate typical electrical power usage curves on a summer and
winter weekday for comparison. The electricity company is responsible for providing con-
sumers with a supply of electrical energy that is as constant as possible. Our efforts at elec-
trical energy conservation should help to lighten the load, but occasionally supply cannot be
maintained and we experience an electrical brownout where the supply voltage suddenly
reduces. This causes lights to dim, motors to slow down and is generally damaging to equip-
ment. The opposite is a power surge where the average voltage increases. This is also dam-
aging to equipment, leading to fuses blowing and transformers and motors overheating.
Luckily, both of these occurrences are infrequent in Australia today. Power blackouts occur
when physical damage, such as lightning strikes or trees breaking or shorting power lines,
trips out circuit-breakers or fuses. In times when electricity workers go on strike or during
power generating station mechanical failure, the electricity company will often shed the load
by disconnecting sections of the distribution grid temporarily. At these times it is important
to turn off all major appliances, so that when the power comes back on, a large surge will not
cause even further problems. Electricity generating companies and engineers use the larger
capacity AC generators at power stations to supply the base load. This usually represents
about 70% of required demand. These large generators, usually coal fired, take up to 16 hours
to reach maximum capacity. The rest of the load is covered by much more flexible oil-fired,
gas-fired and hydroelectric generators. These smaller generators can come on-line very
quickly, often in a matter of minutes. Overall, the generation of electricity for our community
involves a fine balancing act between supply and demand, involving different generation
methods, costs of development and maintenance, and accurate forecasting of future trends in
consumer requirements. Being an electrical power engineer is a worthwhile profession.

Questions
11 Why is a DC electrical distribution not favoured by engineers in Australia?
There are some places in the world where DC distribution does take place.
See if you can find out where they are and present a report.
12 Using Figure 26.18, explain the following features:
(a) The dip and sudden rise in power consumption at about 6 am.
(b) The higher average demand on a winters day.
(c) The dip and sudden rise of the graphs at about 6 pm.
13 Suppose the total resistance of a power line distribution system is rated at
120 . Calculate the power loss in the system if 600 kW is generated and
transmitted at either 11 kV or 66 kV.
Practice questions
Figure 26.19 question number: * = low; ** = medium; *** = high.
For question 14.
*14 Figure 26.19 shows a circular spring loop perpendicular to a magnetic field. If
Y
the spring is released and its area changes from 0.55 m2 to 0.15 m2 in 0.4 s, what
X is the EMF induced between the points X and Y shown on the loop?
*15 Find the average EMF induced in a coil having 15 turns when the magnetic flux
F threading it increases from 0.03 Wb to 0.15 Wb in a time of 0.02 s.
plane
of *16 If a dynamo is found to generate an EMF of 200 V when rotating at 60 rpm, what
loop will be the induced EMF at a rotation of 80 rpm?
(horizontal) *17 Why is Lenzs law often stated as a law of commonsense when applied to
electromagnetic induction?
B = 2.40 T *18 Why do the solenoids used in electromagnets and transformers need to have soft
downwards iron cores? Why are the cores laminated?
*19 A transformer is designed to step down the mains voltage used in Australia to a
voltage of 6.3 V AC. If the primary coil has 2000 turns, how many turns will the
secondary coil have?
*20 Why does the operation of a transformer depend on AC rather than DC voltage?
*21 Explain the following terms as applied to the electrical distribution system in
the community: (a) thermal power station; (b) turbine-driven generator;
(c) brownout; (d) power surge; (e) generated base load.
**22 Figure 26.20 represents graphically the output of an alternator that is rotating
at 50 Hz in a magnetic field of 0.40 T. By superimposing your own curves on top
of this one, illustrate the changes to the output waveform if (a) the magnetic
field changes to 0.80 T; (b) the field remains the same but the rate of rotation
increases to 100 Hz.
Figure 26.20 20
For question 22.
10
Voltage (kV)
Time
10 20 30 40 50 (ms)
10
20

**23 Figure 26.21 illustrates two solenoid coils connected in series. Describe the
behaviour of the suspended magnet in the right-hand coil after a bar magnet is
dropped through the left-hand coil as shown. Explain your reasoning.
S
Figure 26.21
dropped For question 23.
magnet
N
sprung
magnet
N
left right
coil coil
**24 What is the frequency and voltage of the AC supply to your home? Sketch a graph
of the voltage as a function of time. Carefully note all peak and RMS values.
**25 Dynamic or moving coil microphones are generally used for live vocals in rock
bands. Draw a diagram that illustrates their basic construction and describe the
principle of electromagnetic induction on which they operate. Some household
intercom units use a small loudspeaker for both speaking and listening functions.
Explain how this is possible.
*26 What are the factors affecting the output EMF of any practical transformer? If
these transformers are not perfect, where does the energy lost between input
and output go to?
***27 A galvanometer of internal resistance 5 is wired in series with a 200-turn coil Figure 26.22
of area 50 cm2, as shown in Figure 26.22. If this assembly is perpendicular to the For question 27.
field and its intensity varies from 30 mT to 10 mT in a time of 0.02 s, calculate

the current reading on the galvanometer, assuming a total coil resistance of 20 . coil
***28 The diagram of Figure 26.23 shows a flexible loop of wire between the poles of area G
an electromagnet that provides a uniform field B in the region of the loop. At B = 30 mT
time t = 0, the current through the electromagnet is turned off and the field B
falls to zero at time t1, as shown in the accompanying graph.
(a) Draw a corresponding graph of the nature of the induced EMF across the
ends of the loop as a function of time.
(b) If the loop has an area of 0.04 m2, with B0 = 0.6 T at time t = 0 s, find the
average EMF induced if time t1 = 2.0 s.
B Figure 26.23
For question 28.
Time t1
loop area
S
0.04 m2
electromagnet

***29 A variable resistor is connected into circuit with solenoid A and a battery as
shown in Figure 26.24. If the resistor is varied from position X to Y, what is the
direction of induced current in solenoid B? Explain your analysis.
Figure 26.24 solenoid solenoid

For question 29.
A B
+
A
X Y
***30 A hospital generator, 600 m from the hospital, generates 40 kW of power at

250 V AC for use in an emergency. The power lines for distribution to the
hospital complex have a total resistance of 0.2 .
(a) How much power is lost in the system?
(b) Can the hospital staff use normal 240 V appliances?
(c) What would happen if the generator was sited 4 km away from the hospital
and the total line resistance was 1.0 ?
(d) How much power would be lost if transformers were used at both ends of the
lines changing the voltages up to 10.0 kV and down again?
**31 A simple generator has a 100-loop square coil of 8.0 cm side length. How fast
must it turn in a 0.50 T field to produce a peak voltage of 20 V AC?
**32 Discuss why the government doesnt want to legislate to force all consumers to
use electrically efficient, electronic, compact, fluorescent-style lights in
domestic homes.
**33 Photo 26.3 shows a copy of a Fender Stratocaster, the type of guitar used by Jimi
Hendrix and many other musicians. Whereas an acoustic guitar depends for its
sound on the acoustic resonance produced in the hollow body of the instrument
by the oscillations of the strings, an electric guitar is a solid instrument, so there
is no body resonance. Instead, the oscillations of the six metal strings are sensed
by electric pickups, which send signals to an amplifier and a set of speakers.
Photo 26.3
A Yamaha Pacifica one of the most
popular copies of the Fender
Stratocaster guitars.
Figure 26.25
metal guitar string

N
S
to amplifier The basic construction of a pickup is shown in Figure 26.25. Wire connecting the
instrument to an amplifier is coiled around a small magnet. The magnetic field
S of the magnet produces a north and south pole in the section of the metal string
permanent
magnet just above the magnet. When the string is plucked and made to oscillate, its

motion relative to the coil changes the flux of its magnetic field through the
coil, inducing a current in the coil. As the string oscillates towards and away
from the coil, the induced current also oscillates.
On a Stratocaster, there are three sets of pickups each with different frequency
responses. The musician can choose which set to use. Hendrix would also
sometimes rewrap the wire in the pickup coils to make them more sensitive.
(a) How would the frequency of the string compare with the frequency at which
the flux changed in the coil? Explain.
(b) In Figure 26.25, as the string moved away from the pickup, would the
current to the amplifier move out through the top or bottom wire in the
pickup coil?
(c) What change could Hendrix have made to the pickup coil (as mentioned
above)? Describe what difference this change would make and why.
(d) Could you use this sort of pickup on a guitar with nylon strings? Explain.
(e) Another way musicians can change the sound of electric guitars is by using
an effects pedal, which is plugged into an amplifier and activated by the
tap of a foot. Three major types are described below:
Big muff produces a guitar note of relatively constant amplitude,
drawing out the sound until it eventually decays. It does so by clipping
off the high and low peaks. Figure 26.26
Delay the effects box stores information about the notes and feeds
them to the amplifier a few milliseconds later. Often used in rockabilly
music.
Wah-wah uses a filtering device that changes the volume of different
frequencies as the sound decays. For example, as the sound decays the
high frequency notes are reduced quickly whereas the lower frequency
notes are allowed to predominate to produce the muffled wah-wah
sound.
If the guitar produces a note as shown in Figure 26.26, match the three
output waveforms (Figure 26.27) with the three types of effects.
(A) (B) (C)

Figure 26.27

UNIT 09
A t o m i c & N u cl e a r P h y s i c s
CHAPTER 27
Atomic Structure
27.1 INTRODUCTION
The existence of the atom is widely accepted but its incredibly small size is hard to com-
prehend. Only recently have scientists been able to see and photograph individual atoms.
Every breath you take contains about 1024 atoms. The full stop at the end of this sentence is
a million atoms wide.
People get very confused about atoms. They ask questions like these:
If atoms are mostly empty space, how come a brick feels so hard?
What colour is an atom?
If the electron is negative why doesnt it get sucked into the positive nucleus?
How many atoms are there in the universe? It must be a mind-bogglingly big number!
If the nucleus is made up of positive particles, why dont they fly apart?
How do we know atoms really exist if you cant see them?
Scientists have answered the last question but the rest need careful explanation. Thats what
this chapter is about.
27.2 F O U N DAT I O N S O F ATO M I C T H E O RY

The word atom comes from the Greek words a meaning not and tom meaning to cut; hence, Photo 27.1
not cuttable, or indivisible. This arose from the ideas of the Greek philosophers Democritus Photo of surface of graphite in air taken
and Leucippus 2500 years ago. by Dr K. Finlayson (Murdoch University,
WA) using a scanning force microscope
(SFM). Individual carbon atoms can
clearly be seen at this magnification of
Democritus 1.5 million times. The unit angstrom
(A) is a non-SI unit equal to 1010 m.
The word philosopher was used differently from the way it is now. Until the word scientist
was coined in 1830, natural philosophers were people who loved learning about the world (it
comes from the Greek philos = love, sophia = wisdom). One of the first philosophers to
suggest the idea of atoms was Leucippus; however, not much is known about his work. The
earliest writing about atoms was that of Democritus of Abdera (460371 BC). He argued that
you could not keep cutting up something into smaller and smaller pieces forever; eventually 20
you would end up with a piece that could not be cut any further the atom (Figure 27.1). 10
Democritus also argued that atoms were in constant motion and that all atoms were 20
10 0
composed of the same substance but differed in size and shape. His model accounted for 0

many observable properties of matter but as he believed that the atom was the fundamental
indivisible particle, he did not try to explain its structure.
Greek philosophers did not test their theories by experiments as scientists would today.
This wasnt because they did not have the equipment to do so; Greeks had no inclination to
conduct experiments because the philosophers came from lite (rich and powerful) families

Figure 27.1
Democrituss concept of the atom.
clay cut in half cut again and again
The word scientist was coined
etc. atom
by the distinguished Oxford
professor William Whewell in
1834. Up until then they were
called natural philosophers and thought manual work (such as experimenting) was only for slaves. They developed their
(= lovers of learning about ideas by reasoning and discussion. Their method of reasoning was to state some important
nature). principle or law, often based on observations of the heavens, then draw conclusions based on
it. Experimentation generally did not occur that was a seventeenth-century development.
Aristotle
One of the most famous natural philosophers was Aristotle, born in 384 BC. His father was
doctor to the king of Macedonia and Aristotle received a good education in Athens under the
teaching of another famous Greek philosopher, Plato. His writings were vast and many of his
theories went unnoticed until the thirteenth century, when Christian theologians began to
endorse his work as being truth. Aristotle argued that matter could be divided an infinite
number of times until there was a void, that is, nothing. He taught that matter was made up
of four elements earth, air, fire and water and that different combinations produced
different substances (Figure 27.2). This was at odds with the atomic theory but religious
leaders could understand Aristotles view of matter. They did not like the idea of atoms that
moved around seemingly without the control of the gods. So from 300 AD to 1600 AD, the
atomic theories lay dormant while Aristotles ideas flourished.
Figure 27.2
Aristotles concept of the
four elements.
water
moist cold
earth
air
hot dry
fire
T H E WO R K O F J O H N DA LTO N 27.3
A long time passed before the idea of atoms was revived. In the seventeenth century, an
Englishman by the name of Francis Bacon (15611626) introduced the idea of experimentation
Atomic Structure 597

as a way of understanding nature. He reasoned that direct observation of nature rather than Figure 27.3
a study of Aristotle or theology (religious writings) gave a better idea of how the world Daltons model.
worked. He is often thought of as the father of modern science. Later, people like Galileo and
Descartes supported his idea of the experimental method. This inspired a lot of experimental
work through England and Europe. Robert Boyle (162791) investigated the gas laws; Joseph
Priestley (17331804) experimented with the extraction of gases; Antoine Lavoisier
(174394) discovered the composition of air; and Henry Cavendish (17311810) discovered
hydrogen. These experiments paved the way for a breakthrough in our understanding of
matter. Near the beginning of the nineteenth century, the English scientist John Dalton
(17661844) conducted a series of experiments, and published his atomic theory proposing
the existence of individual particles called atoms in all matter (Figure 27.3), with a list of
atomic masses. Dalton believed that all atoms of the same element were identical and that
compounds were formed by the combination of atoms in small whole-number ratios. Other
scientists went on to add to his theories and then in 1897, J. J. (Joseph) Thomson
discovered the electron. This discovery led to the modern-day theory of atomic structure.
atoms
27.4 D I S C OV E RY O F T H E E L E C T R O N
The big leap in our understanding of atomic structure came with the use of electricity in the
laboratory. In the mid-nineteenth century, the effects of sparks, arcs and electrical discharges
through gases were most interesting but of little importance. But after Heinrich Gessler
invented the vacuum pump in 1855, electrical discharges through gases at low pressures
produced brilliant results. Suddenly, the possibility of using vacuum tubes for electrical light-
ing (and making a fortune) was investigated and knowledge about the discharge increased
dramatically. Sir William Crookes (18321919) in 1876 designed a number of tubes to study
these charges. A variety of discharge tubes based on Crookes designs are commonly available
in physics classrooms today (Figure 27.4).
aluminium zinc sulfide Figure 27.4

green screen Discharge tubes commonly used in
+ cross school laboratories.
glow
+
+ shadow
10 000 of cross
paddle wheel V
screen display
Maltese cross
These tubes contained various gases at low pressure and when a high voltage (about
20 000 V) was applied across the terminal at the ends, a purple light was seen; but as
the pressure was reduced, the purple faded and the glass glowed with a green light near the
positive end. There was dispute about what caused this glow but the invisible rays involved
became known as cathode rays as they emanated from the negative (cathode) terminal.
The green light was an example of fluorescence (Latin fluere = to flow and esse = to exist)
light given off by a substance (the glass) when being illuminated by energy from an exter- Figure 27.5
A magnetic field (into the page)
nal source (the discharge). deflects cathode rays downward.
Crookes suggested that cathode rays would be deflected by magnetic fields (Figure 27.5)
and by a series of experiments, Thomson was able to show this magnetic field deflection and B
so proved Crookes hypothesis to be correct.
Thomson devised a technique for passing cathode rays through an electric and a +
magnetic field that were orientated so as to exert opposing forces on the negatively charged
rays. By this method, Thompson was able to measure the charge-to-mass ratio of the cathode
ray particles, which he named electrons. The rays were deflected by the fields and struck the

end of the glass tube, emitting light. The strength of the fields was then adjusted until the
beam was not deflected. At this point the magnitude of the force exerted by the magnetic
field, FB, was equal to the magnitude of the force exerted by the electric field, FE:
FE = FB
qE = Bqv
v = qE = E
Bq B
where v = the velocity of the electrons.

By knowing the strengths of the magnetic and electric fields, Thomson was able to cal-
culate the velocity of the electron. When he switched off the electric field, he knew that the
deflection of the electron was due just to the magnetic field. The curved path of the electron
was due to centripetal force provided by the magnetic field.
The centripetal force formula:
2
F C = mv
r
The magnetic force formula:
F B = Bqv
(Recall these formulas from Chapters 5 and 25.)

Hence:
2
Bqv = mv
r
or q = v
m Br
Figure 27.6 Substituting the value for velocity v above:

Thomsons plum pudding model.
negatively charged particles E

q B = E
positive sea
of charge =
m Br B 2r
Thus the charge-to-mass ratio of the electrons would be given by:
q = E
m B 2r
The ratio q/m is more commonly referred to as the e/m ratio, where e stands for the charge
on the electron. Thomson was able to measure the e/m ratio to be 1.759 1011 C kg1.
However, neither e nor m can be determined individually by this method.
When Thomson determined the e/m ratio for the hydrogen ion to be about 1800 times
greater than that of the electron he realised that the electron was much smaller than the
smallest known atom (hydrogen) and electrons were identical no matter where they came
from. The only conclusion was that the electron was a sub-atomic particle; a conclusion later
proved correct. Seven of Thomsons assistants went on to win Nobel prizes.

27.5 T H O M S O N S M O D E L O F T H E ATO M
Thomson knew that an atom was electrically neutral but contained negatively charged elec- Photo 27.2
trons so he proposed a plum pudding model of the atom (Figure 27.6). This envisaged the A cathode ray tube. The electron gun at
the rear of a computer monitor can be
atom as a ball of positive charge (like a pudding) with electrons scattered throughout (like seen.
raisins). This model explained many features of the atom but couldnt explain others such as
atomic spectra or radioactivity and was eventually replaced.
Modern cathode ray tubes

Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) have undergone continuous development since Crookess original
models. Many modern applications such as televisions, visual display units (VDUs) and
cathode ray oscilloscopes (CROs) contain CRTs. In a modern CRT, a heated filament is used in
an evacuated tube to produce an electron beam. The part of the tube that accelerates the
high-speed electrons is called the electron gun.
Activity 27.1 DISCHARGE TUBES

1 If you have an old TV set or computer monitor that is no longer any good, you
may be able to take the cover off and look at the tube. Do not plug it in! And
if it has been turned on in the past few months dont touch anything the
capacitors could still be charged (zap!!) Try to locate where the electrons are
produced (the electron gun) and where the electric field and magnetic field coils
could be. Share your findings with your class.
2 If your teacher demonstrates a flat screen discharge tube, suggest how you could
test the effect of an electric field on it. Be careful not to stand too close to any
operating discharge tube for too long. There is a slight danger from X-rays.
Millikans experiment
Thomson had worked out the ratio between charge and mass for the electron but it was not Figure 27.7
until the experiments of American physicist Robert Millikan (18681953) between 1909 and Schematic diagram of Millikans apparatus.
1916 that the actual charge (in coulombs) and consequently the actual mass of the electron oil spray
light
became known. Millikans experiment was one of the classic experiments in physics. source
A mist of oil was sprayed into the region above a pair of metal plates (Figure 27.7) and
eventually a single oil drop fell through the hole in the top plate. When the plates were
uncharged, the drops fell through at a steady velocity dependent on their weight. Being light microscope
objects, the oil drops reached a terminal velocity because they experienced considerable air
charged oil drops metal plates
resistance. By viewing the droplets through a microscope, Millikan was able to measure the
terminal velocity and hence could determine the droplets weight. When an electric field was
applied between the plates, however, the motion of the drop was changed. It could be made to
rise and fall depending on the voltage applied to the plates. A drop that remained stationary Figure 27.8
did so because it became charged during the spraying process and the electric force (FE = Bqv) An oil drop balanced in the electric field
between oppositely charged plates.
was balanced by the gravitational force (FW = mg). See Figure 27.8. If the upward electric
force was greater than the gravitational force, then the charged droplet would move upwards. +
For a stationary drop:
FE
FE = FW FW
Eq = mg
i.e. q = mg
E

Photo 27.3 Millikan studied the behaviour of thousands of oil drops and was able to work out the charges
Millikans apparatus the telescope on them. He found that all charges were whole-number multiples of the minimum charge of
is on the left, the viewing chamber
in the middle and the light source
1.602 1892 1019 coulombs. It is worth remembering that an uncharged oil drop still has
on the right. billions of electrons but these are balanced by an equal number of protons. In Millikans
experiment, it is the excess electrons that are being counted.
Knowing the charge on the electron enables the mass of the electron to be calculated. If
e/m = 1.76 1011 C kg1 and e = 1.6 1019 C, then me = 9.11 1031 kg.
Example
In a Millikan oil drop experiment, an oil drop of mass 4.0 1016 kg was held stationary
between a pair of electric plates held 2.0 cm apart. The voltage across the plates was 120 V.
Assume g = 9.8 m s2.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the electric field between the plates when the oil
drop was stationary.
(b) What was the size of the charge on the oil drop?
(c) How many elementary charges does this correspond to?
Solution
E = V = 120 = 6 10 3 V m 1
(a) d 0.02
q = mg = 4 10 3 9.8 = 6.5 10 19 C
(b) 16
E 6 10
Number of elementary charges = 6.5 1019 C = 4.

(c) 19
1.6 10 C
In 1910, Millikan was appointed Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago and in
1923 he was awarded a Nobel prize for this work.
At about the time that Thompson and Millikan were experimenting on electrons, the exis-
tence of radioactivity became known. The next section describes some of the milestones and
people involved in its discovery.
A c t i v i t y 2 7 . 2 M AT C H B O X M O D E L S
1 Take four matchboxes and put two marbles in one, three in the next, four in the
next and five in the last. If you dont have marbles, any small objects such as 20
cent coins will do.
2 Ask a friend to measure the mass of each box and challenge her to tell you how
many marbles or coins are in each box. Can she also tell you the mass of an
empty matchbox?
3 How does this relate to Millikans experiment?
A c t i v i t y 2 7 . 3 C O M P U T E R S I M U L AT I O N S
If your school has Millikans apparatus, your teacher may demonstrate how it works and
collect some data. If not, there are some excellent computer simulations available.
If you dont have access to a commercial package there are several available on the
Internet. If you can download one of these, you should find that you get a good feel
for Millikans experiment.

Questions
1 Briefly compare and contrast the methods used by the Greeks and modern
scientists in their investigation of scientific problems.
2 In a Millikan oil drop experiment, an oil drop of mass 1.05 1015 kg was held
stationary between a pair of electric plates 2.6 cm apart and with a potential
difference of 210 V. Assume g = 9.8 m s2.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the electric field between the plates when the
oil drop was stationary.
(b) What was the size of the charge on the oil drop?
(c) How many excess electrons were on the drop?
27.6 T H E D I S C OV E RY O F R A D I OA C T I V I T Y
Meanwhile, back to the debate about the nature of cathode rays two opposing camps had
developed. In England, Crookes led the particle theory group by saying the rays were torrents
of negatively ionised gas molecules. Across the English Channel, the German scientist Heinrich
Hertz led the opposition group, which said that as the rays could pass through metal foil they
couldnt be big gas molecules and must be more like electromagnetic (light) waves. The break-
through was soon to come by accident.
The history of science is littered with examples of scientists stumbling on amazing
discoveries purely by chance. Does this mean that these serendipitous (lucky) discoveries are
not real science? No! The discovery of radioactivity involved many of these fortuitous events
and the talent of four main players Wilhelm Roentgen, Henri Becquerel, and Marie and
Pierre Curie.
Wilhelm Roentgen
The breakthrough into the cathode ray wave versus particle debate came in November 1895.
Wilhelm Roentgen (18451923), an obscure professor of physics at Wrzburg, wanted to
resolve this controversy so he bought a Crookes tube and soon found that something was
happening outside the tube. Although his discharge tube was completely enclosed in black
cardboard, he noticed that a piece of paper coated with the fluorescent compound barium Photo 27.4
Radiograph of the hand of
platinocyanide, which happened to be lying on the bench, glowed while the tube was in anatomist Albert von Kolliker, made
operation. He identified the origin of the radiation in the glass wall of the tube where it at the conclusion of Roentgens
was struck by the cathode rays. He didnt know what to call them so he just said they were lecture and demonstration at the
Wrzburg Physical-Medical Society
X-rays. They were not charged particles since they were undeflected by magnetic fields. On on 23 January 1896.
23 January 1896, in his one-and-only significant public lecture in Wrzburg, Roentgen
stated for the sake of brevity, I should like to use the term rays and to distinguish them
from others I shall use the name X-rays. The anatomist von Kolliker, who was present at this
meeting, had his hand X-rayed (Photo 27.4) the audience was astonished. Roentgens
breakthrough in the debate about whether cathode rays were particles or waves came as the
consequence of this apparently accidental discovery. Within a few days it was news all over
the world; it was the subject of music hall jokes and within a few days almost every physicist
was repeating the experiments to admiring audiences.
A c t i v i t y 2 7 . 4 W H AT R O E N T G E N S AW
See if you are able to try the following experiment (under teacher supervision).
Use one of the Crookes gas discharge tubes from the physics laboratory. Place some
luminescent mineral (e.g. uranium salt such as uranyl nitrate) about 1 m away from
the tube in a darkened room and note the effect. Now place the uranium salt under
an ultraviolet light (black light). How does it compare? Can you see how Roentgen
was misled?

Henri Becquerel
The early workers advanced many ingenious theories for the origin of the X-radiation. At first
they thought it might be connected with the fluorescence of the glass walls of the tubes.
Henri Becquerel (18521908), a professor of physics in Paris, began investigating a variety
of fluorescent materials to see if they also emitted these X-rays. All trials with various
minerals, metal sulfides, and other compounds known to fluoresce on exposure to visible
light gave negative results. Then he remembered he had a sample of potassium uranyl
sulfate from 15 years earlier, which he exposed to a bright light and placed on top of a
photographic plate wrapped in two sheets of black paper. After several hours the plate had
darkened. Cool!
Becquerel soon found out that this amazing behaviour had nothing to do with the fluo-
rescence of the uranium salt. On 16 February 1896 he was going to confirm his result by
repeating the experiment (as scientists do) but it was a rainy day so he left the uranium salt
on top of the wrapped plate in a drawer, hopefully not near his lunch. A few days later he
developed the plate and to his amazement a sharp, clear image was present. The penetrating
radiation had come from the uranium itself, not from fluorescence under bright light. He had
discovered a new source of radiation but it was not identical to X-rays. The radiation was
emitted spontaneously by the uranium and was nothing to do with outside influences such
as sunlight. The rays became known as Becquerel rays, but he did not do any more research
on them, preferring instead to carry out research on X-rays. He discovered the phenomenon
of naturally occurring radiation, partly by good scientific deduction and partly by accident.
Becquerel rays were later to become known as alpha rays.
A c t i v i t y 2 7 . 5 WAT C H T H E L U M I N E S C E N C E
If you can get hold of an old watch or clock dial with a luminescent dial, look at it under
a microscope or with a 10 power (or more) magnifying glass. Luminescent paint contains
radioactive radium in the pigment. In a dark room, once your eyes are used to the dark,
you should be able to see the watch dial clearly. Under the lens you should be able to
see tiny light flashes that are given off whenever a particle is emitted by the unstable
isotopes and strikes another chemical (zinc sulfide, ZnS) in the paint. During the
manufacture of many of these dials in the United States in the 1920s, the women who
worked on them used to make a fine point on their paintbrushes by wetting them
between their lips. Those who did eventually ended up with tongue cancer, and fifteen
of them died. Luminous dials these days contain H-3, Kr-85, Pm-147, Tl-204.
Marie and Pierre Curie

Marya (Marie) Sklodovska was born in Warsaw (Poland) in 1867 and after high school did a
degree in physics, topping the class. While enrolled in a second degree (in maths) in 1894
she met Pierre Curie (18591906) and they married the following year. On the advice of
Becquerel, Pierre suggested Marie undertake a PhD studying the new Becquerel rays as they
were known. She began testing uranium compounds and measured their activity by using a
device called an electrometer invented earlier by Pierre and his brother Jacques. As radiation
passes through the air it can remove electrons from the gas molecules, creating positive ions,
which will be attracted to a negatively charged electrometer and alter its charge.
She soon discovered that some uranium minerals were four or five times as active as they
should be on the basis of their uranium content. She concluded that new substances must be
present. She introduced the term radioactivity (Latin radius = ray, a spoke of a wheel) to
distinguish this form of emission from X-rays. Marie and Pierre began separating the uranium
ore pitchblende into various fractions. The Curies bought a truckload of pitchblende and
boiled it up in large vats, distilling the vapour. In July 1898 she discovered a new element,
which she named polonium (after Poland), and in December she isolated radium.

Figure 27.9
A radioactive source discharges
an electrometer by ionising the
positive ions air around it.
+ + are repelled
+
alpha
source
+ +
+ +
negative electrons
beams of are attracted to the
alpha particles electroscope
+ +
+ +
the leaf
collapses
Unfortunately, Pierre was run over by a horse and dray and killed in Paris in 1905. Maries
daughter, Irene, joined the laboratory (The Radium Institute) and with her husband, Frederick
Joliot, in 1934 was the first to demonstrate artificial radioactivity by bombarding
aluminium with alpha rays. Later that year Marie died of leukaemia, a cancer of the blood, in
her case caused by handling those radioactive substances for so long. When she died her skin
was white from the lack of red blood cells. Today, in the garden at the rear of the Curies
laboratory, white roses grow a moving metaphor and reminder of Maries life.
Since then, many other radioactive elements have been discovered, although not all of
them occur naturally. We now use the term nuclear radiation instead of Becquerel rays
because it is known that the radiation comes from the nucleus.
A c t i v i t y 2 7 . 6 R A D I AT I O N D E T E C TO R S
1 Charge an electroscope and time how long it takes to discharge into the air.
What causes this? Repeat but hold a lighted taper close to the plate. Explain the
result. Repeat again but, under teacher supervision, place an alpha particle
source such as strontium-90 close to the plate. Explain this result.
2 Besides the electroscope, there are several other types of detectors available
today, the simplest being photographic film that is often worn as a badge to
monitor personal levels of radiation. Others include the Geiger-Mller tube, the
thermo-luminescent dosimeter, the cloud chamber and the scintillation counter.
Write a paragraph on one of the above types of detectors and include a drawing
of what it looks like.
3 Why is a badge radiation monitor (see Photo 27.5) not the best way to protect
you from radiation hazards?
4 Under teacher supervision, place a gamma source (such as cobalt-60) on top of a Photo 27.5
pinch of sodium chloride to irradiate it. After a while place the salt on top of a Radiation badge.
heated hotplate in a dark room and watch what happens. Explain how this is
related to the thermo-luminescent dosimeter.
Questions
3 Radioactivity was discovered by accident. Does this mean it is not real science?
4 Radioactivity would never have been discovered, had it not been for the
discovery of X-rays. Comment.
5 The measurement of nuclear radiation by the Curies depended on the invention
of a particular instrument. Which instrument was this?

N U C L E A R R A D I AT I O N 27.7
At the end of the nineteenth century research into radioactivity became one of the most
important frontiers of research. One man led the field for many years. He was an experimen-
tal physicist, who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry and was perhaps the most productive physi-
cist the world had known the New Zealand born Ernest Rutherford (18711937).
Rutherford won a scholarship to Cambridge to study under J. J. Thomson, beginning his lifes
work. He found that radiation could be classified according to its penetrating ability and in
1899 wrote: There are present at least two distinct types of radiation one that is very eas-
ily absorbed, which will be termed for convenience (alpha) radiation, and the other of a
more penetrating radiation, which will be termed (beta) radiation (after the first letters of
the Greek alphabet). In 1900, the French physicist Paul Villard (18601934) discovered a
third more penetrating radiation, which he called (gamma).
Figure 27.10
The penetration power of radiation.
alpha

beta

gamma

paper metal concrete,

foil lead or steel
In 1903, Rutherford prepared some data on the relative penetrating power of the radia-
tion. He used the term half-thickness to indicate the thickness of aluminium that would
reduce the intensity of the radiation to half.
Alpha radiation is almost totally absorbed by a piece of paper; it will only travel a
few centimetres in air. Aluminium half-thickness = 0.0005 cm.
Beta radiation is almost totally absorbed by a millimetre of lead or a few millimetres
of Perspex; it will travel about 1 m in air. Aluminium half-thickness = 0.05 cm.
Gamma radiation is never fully absorbed and requires several centimetres of lead or
over 1 m of concrete. Aluminium half-thickness = 8.0 cm.
Figure 27.11
(a) The process of ionisation.
(b) Comparative ionising ability. Ionising ability
(a) ionising
(b)
particle (e.g. or particle)

electron

positive ion
+ remaining

Sometimes so much energy is absorbed by an atom that an electron completely escapes from
the atom and a positive ion is produced. When this radiation causes ions to form, it is called
ionising radiation (Greek ion = to go, hence the idea of ions moving around).
Alpha radiation is powerfully ionising.
Beta radiation has lower ionising ability than alpha radiation.
Gamma radiation is only very weakly ionising.
The next step for physicists was to uncover the exact nature of each type of radiation.
They did this by several ingenious experiments.
Magnetic field effects

At the same time as radioactivity was discovered, the effect of magnetic fields on cathode
rays was being investigated. It was a logical extension to try similar experiments on alpha,
beta and gamma rays.
It was found that three types of deflections occurred when the radiation from a sample
of radioactive material was passed through a magnetic field. In Figure 27.12, the rays are
shown moving vertically up the page as they pass through a magnetic field into the page
(shown by the crosses). Some rays deflect to the left, some to the right and some pass
through unaffected. If you apply your hand or palm rules for the effect of a magnetic field on
a charged moving particle, you will find that the rays passing to the left must be positively
charged (alpha). The small curvature of the alpha rays indicates that they are relatively heavy
particles. Similarly, rays to the right must be negatively charged (beta, or electrons), and rays
passing straight through must be uncharged (gamma). In the early experiments, the evidence
for deflection was collected on a photographic plate. In 1900, Rutherford and his assistant
Thomas Royds showed that alpha particles are helium ions.
Figure 27.12
alpha gamma beta The deflection of alpha, beta and
gamma rays by a magnetic field.
photographic plate
magnetic field B
(into page)
radioactive source
lead container
Questions
6 Alpha particles have a positive charge. How can they form neutral helium atoms
in the tube? Where must the electrons come from?
7 How did investigations of cathode rays lead to the discovery of radioactivity?
8 Explain why alpha radiation has a low penetrating ability but is a powerfully
ionising radiation, whereas gamma radiation is highly penetrating but a very
weakly ionising radiation.
The nuclear atom

The greatest discovery of all was yet to come. Rutherford and his colleague Hans Geiger had
experimented on the scattering of alpha particles by thin pieces of heavy metal and found
small deflections of about 1. One day in 1910 at the University of Manchester, Geiger
suggested to Rutherford that their young colleague Edward Marsden should begin research.

Rutherford jokingly said to let him see if any alpha particles scatter through a large angle,
knowing that they probably would not. Rutherford told the story:
Three days later Geiger came to me in great excitement saying, We have been able to get some of
the alpha particles coming backwards. It was the most incredible event that has ever happened to
me in my life. It was almost as incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper
and it came back and hit you. (Source: E. Rutherford, Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 21, 1911.)
deflected
Figure 27.13
Alpha particles in a thin foil atomic nucleus
scattered by the atomic nucleus.
incident
alpha
particles
pass
through
only 1 in
6000 are
deflected
more than
90
target atom
(thin foil)
Geiger and Marsden used a beam of alpha particles from a radon source fired at gold foil
a few atoms thick (about 107 m). Most of the alpha particles went straight through as though
the metal was empty space and some scattered through small angles, but a few bounced
straight back, deflected through 180. Rutherford stated his nuclear model in 1911. The
positive charge is concentrated in the massive centre of the atom with electrons revolving in
orbits around it like planets around the sun (see Figure 27.14). Rutherford called this
massive centre the nucleus (from an Indo-European language knu = nut, kernel). He calcu-
lated that it had a diameter of about 1014 m, about 1 ten-thousandth the diameter of the
atom (1010 m).
Figure 27.14 empty space

Rutherfords model.
small positive
nucleus
electrons circling
the nucleus
randomly (not
to scale)

Discovery of the proton P H Y S I C S FA C T
Once physicists had discovered alpha and beta particles, they developed a model for the struc- Famous artist Pablo Picasso said
his paintings were inspired by
ture of the nucleus. However, the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is too light to contain even a
Rutherfords theory that you
single alpha particle. In 1919, Rutherford bombarded some nitrogen atoms with particles
could break up an atom into
and succeeded in ejecting some positive particles. These particles are now known to be individual pieces and reconstruct
protons (Greek protos = first or fundamental), the nucleus of a hydrogen atom. These it in different ways.
protons were soon found to have a positive charge, equal in magnitude but opposite in sign Have you seen any of Picassos
to the charge on an electron. portraits in which body parts
The work by Rutherford and other scientists provided evidence that protons were have been swapped around?
constituents of all atomic nuclei and he was able to propose a model for the nucleus as
consisting of protons and much lighter electrons. Rutherfords laboratory is still radioactive
to this day.
Discovery of the neutron

In the following year, Rutherford delivered a lecture with far-reaching consequences. He
proposed that it was possible that a proton in the nucleus might combine with an electron
to form a neutral particle, which he called a neutron (Greek ne = not, uter = one or the
other; hence not positive or negative). This could be the particle to explain why the hydro-
gen nucleus has a charge of 1+ and a mass of 1 unit whereas helium has a charge of 2+ but a
mass of 4 units. Over the next 12 years researchers looked in vain but their means of detect-
ing particles was by deflection in magnetic and electric fields. As the neutron was predicted
to be uncharged, it was unlikely to be detected.
In 1930, two German physicists, W. G. Bothe and Hans Becker, bombarded boron and
beryllium with particles and found a strange radiation one that could penetrate lead
better than gamma rays (and thats highly penetrating!). In France, Irene Curie (daughter of
Marie and Pierre Curie) and her husband Frederick Joliot directed particles onto a block
of paraffin wax, a material rich in H atoms (see Figure 27.15). (You would recognise paraffin
wax as surfboard wax perhaps it was an overcast day and Irene didnt go surfing.) As the
radiation struck the wax, knock-on protons were formed on the other side. This seemed as
though a new type of radiation was coming from the beryllium.
ionisation Figure 27.15

paraffin wax chamber The apparatus used by Chadwick
to identify the neutron.
Be
alpha
radiation amplifier
knock-on
from to measure
protons
polonium current
source high energy
uncharged
particles detector
??
In 1932 James Chadwick, while working at the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge under
Rutherford, used an ionisation chamber to measure the energies of the knock-on protons.
Chadwick showed that the energy of the radiation was much higher than previously measured
for rays. The radiation could not be rays but was instead due to uncharged particles of
mass similar to that of the proton. These uncharged particles were neutrons. Chadwick was
awarded the Nobel prize in 1935 for his discovery. During the war he headed Britains team
of nuclear physicists who worked on the atomic bomb. He was knighted in 1945.

Questions
9 Comment on the truth of this statement: In 1919, Rutherford proposed a model
of the atom comprising a small positive nucleus of protons and neutrons with
electrons circling it.
DIFFICULTIES WITH THE RUTHERFORD ATOM 27.8

The model of the atom as proposed by Rutherford provided a great step forward, but it also
raised some difficulties. It is known that when a charged particle changes velocity (either
speed or direction) it will radiate energy. If the electrons are in orbit around the positively
charged nucleus then they should radiate energy because they are continually changing direc-
tion. If this were true, the atom would continuously lose energy and spiral into the nucleus.
But it doesnt no energy is radiated and it doesnt spiral inward. Something was wrong with
Rutherfords model.
Some sort of modification was needed, and in 1913 it was the Danish physicist Niels Bohr
who provided it by adding an essential idea the quantum theory (from the Latin quantus
= how much). This raised a storm of controversy among scientists and philosophers. Bohr
said that electrons could only exist in certain fixed orbits around the nucleus (Figure 27.16).
He postulated that an electron in each orbit would move without losing energy or emitting
radiation but when an electron jumped from one orbit to a lower one a single photon (a
quantum) of light was emitted. Chapter 29 looks at the Bohr model and these spectral
emissions in more detail.
Figure 27.16
Bohrs model.
empty space
small nucleus
set orbits for electrons,

in energy levels
Questions
10 American physicist Douglas Giancoli remarked that students often say Dont tell
us about the history and all the theories that were wrong. Tell us the facts as they
are known today. Critically evaluate this statement using examples from history.
11 If the Thompson model had been correct, how would the results of the
Rutherford scattering experiment have been different?
T H E M O D E R N S T R U C T U R E O F T H E ATO M 27.9
We now know that an atom is made up of a dense nucleus composed of protons and neutrons
and is surrounded by a cloud of electrons. About 99% of the mass is concentrated in the
nucleus. If you had a nucleus the size of a strawberry it would bore its way through the
ground. In Chapter 29 you will see that protons and neutrons have an internal structure
they are made up of particles called quarks.

Chemical characteristics
The number of protons in an atom determines its name. Hydrogen has one proton, helium has
two, uranium has ninety-two and so on. The number of protons is called the atoms atomic
number, which has the symbol Z. Particles residing in the nucleus (protons and neutrons) are
called nucleons. The different types of nuclei are referred to as nuclides; for example, there
is a hydrogen nuclide, a helium nuclide and so on.
Mass and size

A proton or neutron has a mass 1836 times that of the electron, so in a hydrogen atom, for
example, 99.95% of the mass is contained in the nucleus. However, the nucleus occupies only
a tiny volume about 1 trillionth the volume of the atom. If the nucleus were an orange
seed, the outer region of the electron cloud would be 100 m away. How big is the electron?
Well, the electron is considered to be a point charge, so is not considered to have any size
at all. Table 27.1 shows the masses and charges of some atomic particles.
Ta b l e 2 7 . 1 T H E M A S S A N D C H A R G E O F T H E ATO M I C PA RT I C L E S
PARTICLE MASS (kg) CHARGE (coulomb)
Proton 1.6726 1027 +1.6 1019
Neutron 1.6750 1027 0
Electron 9.1095 1031 1.6 1019
The simplest atom is that of hydrogen (Greek hydro = water, genes = to form). It has
one proton and no neutrons so its atomic number Z (number of protons) is 1 and its atomic
mass A (p + n) is also 1. As it is an atom it is electrically neutral so it must have the same
number of positive and negative charges; hence it has one electron. The number of protons
determines the name of the atom; for example, all atoms with eight protons are called oxygen.
If oxygen has eight electrons it is a neutral atom; if it has more electrons (e.g. 10) it is a
negative ion (O2); fewer electrons (e.g. 6) makes it a positive ion (O2+).
Isotopes
As more radioactive elements were discovered between lead (atomic number 82) and
uranium (92), it became increasingly difficult to see how they could all fit into the ten
atomic number spaces. Cases began to appear in which two radioactive elements, distinctly
different in the type of radiation they emitted, were otherwise chemically identical. For exam-
ple, in 1913 Frederick Soddy found that there were two forms of lead; one was the ordinary
sort with a mass of 207 units and the other, taken from a uranium deposit in Norway, had a
mass of 206 units. Soddy concluded that such inseparable elements must occupy the same
place in the periodic table and gave them the same isotopes (Greek iso = same, topos =
place). Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons. In the example above, both isotopes have 82 protons but one has 124 neutrons
(206 82) and the other has 125 neutrons (207 82).
The chemical properties of isotopes are identical but the physical properties are different
because of the different masses. For example, hydrogen has three isotopes called hydrogen
(H), deuterium (D) and tritium (T) as shown in Figure 27.17. Their composition is shown in
Table 27.2. Water made with ordinary hydrogen (H2O) has a density of 1.000 g/mL and boils
at 100.00C, whereas heavy water made from deuterium oxide (D2O) has a density of
1.1079 g/mL and a boiling point of 101.42C.

Figure 27.17 (a) hydrogen atom (b) deuterium atom (c) tritium atom
The isotopes of hydrogen:
(a) hydrogen; (b) deuterium; 1 proton 1 proton
1 proton in
(c) tritium. and 1 neutron
nucleus and 2 neutrons
in nucleus in nucleus
p p n
p
n n
e e e
1 2 3
1H 1H 1H
Ta b l e 2 7 . 2 T H E I S OTO P E S O F H Y D R O G E N
ISOTOPE SYMBOL PROTONS NEUTRONS PROTONS + NEUTRONS ELECTRONS
(NUCLIDE) (ATOMIC NUMBER) (ATOMIC MASS) (= PROTONS)
Hydrogen 1H 1 0 1 1
1
Deuterium 2H 1 1 2 1
1
Tritium 3H 1 2 3 1
1
Each isotope is referred to as a nuclide. The shorthand way of describing a nuclide is shown
in Figure 27.18. For example, the isotopes of hydrogen are written as 11H, 21H and 31H. The
lead isotopes mentioned earlier would be written as 206 207
82 Pb and 82 Pb but can also be written
as Pb-206 and Pb-207. (The atomic number 82 is not needed as all isotopes of lead have
82 protons.)
Figure 27.18
Notation of a nuclide. nucleon number 12 nucleons (protons + neutrons)
Can also be written as carbon-12
or just C-12.
A 12
Z X C
proton number element symbol
6
6 protons element carbon
Students often get confused when trying to work out symbols for nuclides. The most
important thing to remember is that the atomic number Z (the number of protons) and the
symbol go hand-in-hand. All isotopes of lead have an atomic number of 82 and all atoms with
an atomic number of 82 are lead. There can be other nuclides with an atomic mass of 206 or
207 besides lead, for example 206 207
84 Po or 83 Bi. The symbol and the atomic mass can be found by
consulting the periodic table shown in Appendix 6 or the table in Appendix 7. Note that the
atomic mass of an element is the actual mass of the atoms of an element as it is found in
nature. Since most elements exist as isotopes, this mass is really a weighted average of the
masses of the isotopes present. For example, ordinary carbon consists of 98.89% carbon-12,
1.11% of carbon-13 and a trace (1 108%) of carbon-14. The average atomic mass is 98.89%
of 12 plus 1.11% of 13 which equals 12.0111 units. This is called the relative atomic mass
(Ar) of carbon. Only carbon-12 (the most abundant) has a relative atomic mass of exactly
12.0000.

Example
Magnesium is found naturally occurring on Earth as three different isotopes. The abundance
of each isotope is as follows: 2142 Mg, 78.70%; 2152 Mg, 10.13%; 2162Mg, 11.17%. Calculate the
relative atomic mass of magnesium.
Solution
24 78.70 = 18.888
100
25 10.13 = 2.533
100
26 11.17 = 2.904
100
Total (sum) = 24.32 units.
Most elements exist as a number of isotopes. Uranium contains three isotopes of atomic
mass 234, 235 and 238. The particle composition of these isotopes is shown in Table 27.3.
(The exact mass of a nuclide to four or more decimal places is in Appendix 8.)
Ta b l e 2 7 . 3 T H E I S OTO P E S O F U R A N I U M
ISOTOPE ATOMIC PROTON ELECTRON NEUTRON ATOMIC EXACT
NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER MASS MASS (u)
(Z) (Z) (Z) (A Z) (A)
U-234 92 92 92 142 234 234.04098
U-235 92 92 92 143 235 235.04394
U-238 92 92 92 146 238 238.05082
Questions
You may need to refer to the periodic table to answer the following questions.
12 Carbon has two common isotopes of atomic mass 12 and 14. Write their symbols.
13 Helium exists in nature as two isotopes, of atomic mass 3 and 4. Prepare a table
showing the particle composition of these isotopes.
14 Neutrons are bigger than electrons but have higher penetrating power. Explain
why.
15 Write down the numbers of protons and neutrons in each of the nuclides
represented by (a) 21H; (b) 126C; (c) 178O; (d) 2131Na; (e) 3126S; (f) 10477Ag; (g) 12573I;
(h) 23982U.
16 What is the average atomic mass of silicon that consists of 92.22% Si-28, 4.70%
Si-29 and 3.08% Si-30?
27.10 MASS DEFECT AND BINDING ENERGY

When accurate measurements of the masses of nucleons and nuclei are made, a significant
discrepancy emerges. The mass of a nucleus is always less than the combined individual
masses of its constituent nucleons. For example, the mass of a deuterium nucleus is
3.34364 1027 kg but the sum of the masses of the individual proton and neutron is
3.34760 1027 kg.

Atomic mass units

The masses of neutrons, protons and electrons have been accurately measured using a mass
spectrometer, in which the radius of curvature of a particle through known magnetic and
electrostatic fields is determined (see Figure 25.30 in Chapter 25). The masses are expressed
as unified atomic mass units, abbreviated amu or just u. One unified atomic mass unit is
one-twelfth the mass of an atom of the carbon isotope of atomic mass 12.0000 (that is,
12C). The unified mass unit includes the masses of the six electrons of the carbon atom.
In kilograms, 1 u = 1.6606 1027 kg.

The masses of atomic particles are as follows:
proton (mp) 1.007 276 u
neutron (mn) 1.008 665 u
electron (me) 0.000 549 u
A carbon-12 atom is made up of six protons, six neutrons and six electrons. The sum of these
masses is as follows:
6 protons 6.043 656 u
6 neutrons 6.051 990 u
6 electrons 0.003 294 u
Total mass 12.098 940 u
However, the mass of a 126C atom is 12.0000 u, which is less than the sum of its constituent
particles. Where has the missing 0.098 940 u gone into thin air?
The loss of mass was defined by scientist F. W. Aston as mass defect (m) and it repre-
sents the mass that has been converted to binding energy, energy that binds or holds the
nuclear particles together. Holding six protons together in a nucleus is a difficult task as they
are repelling each other. The binding energy is needed to overcome these huge electrostatic
forces of repulsion. When we form a carbon nucleus we convert a mass of 0.098 94 u into
binding energy. Einstein showed that mass and energy are equivalent and one can be
converted into the other. Using his equation showing the relationship between mass and
energy E = mc2, we can calculate the amount of energy involved. The constant of proportion-
ality is c2 where c is the speed of light in a vacuum (3 108 m s1). The binding energy can
be calculated:
E = 0.098 94 u 1.6606 10 27 kg (3.00 10 8) 2 = 1.48 10 11 J
Alternatively we could express the binding energy in units called megaelectron volt (MeV)
where 1 u of mass defect is equivalent to 931 MeV. In the above case of carbon, a mass defect
(m) of 0.098 94 u equals 0.098 94 u 931 MeV/u = 92.1 MeV.
To break up the nucleus, you would have to expend the same amount of energy in the process.
The binding energy of a nucleus is the energy converted from mass when a nucleus is
formed from its constituent nuclear particles, all initially in their free state.
Example
For the nuclide 24He, calculate (a) the mass defect; (b) binding energy in MeV per nucleon.
Solution
Mass of 24He (nucleus and electrons) = 4.002 603 u.

Components: 2p = 2 1.007 276 u = 2.014 552 u
2n = 2 1.008 665 u = 2.017 330 u
2e = 2 0.000 549 u = 4.032 980 u.
m (mass defect) = 4.002 603 4.032 980 = 0.030 377 u.
1 unit of mass (1 u) = 931 MeV (megaelectronvolt) of energy.
Hence: 24He binding energy = 0.030 377 931 MeV
= 28.28 MeV

Obviously, the more protons present, the greater the repulsive forces and hence the greater
the binding energy necessary. For example, C-12 has a binding energy of 92.1 MeV whereas
U-235 requires 1781 MeV. However, expressing the required energy as the binding energy per
nucleon gives a measure of how stable the nucleus is. The greater the binding energy
per nucleon, the more stable it is.
For example, C-12 has 12 nucleons so 92.1 MeV 12 = 7.67 MeV/nucleon. U-235 has only
1781 235 = 7.58 MeV per nucleon. The carbon nucleus is more stable.
Variation in binding energy

If we plot a graph of the binding energy per nucleon against the atomic mass (see Figure
27.19), the most stable nuclides are apparent those with atomic masses around 5060 u,
for example Fe-56. Those heavy nuclides with atomic masses to the right of this region are
most likely to undergo nuclear fission and break into smaller nuclides to become more stable.
Light nuclei, to the left of Fe-56, are more likely to undergo nuclear fusion and join together
to form heavier nuclides. Fission and fusion are described in the next chapter.
10 Figure 27.19
4 He 56 Fe
2 90 Sr Graph showing the binding energy
9 26 141Ba
38
56 per nucleon as atomic mass
238
8 92
U changes.
Average binding energy
maximum fission
7
at 8.7 MeV
per nucleon (MeV)
5
fusion
1
1
1H
0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 210 220 240
Atomic mass (A)
Question
17 Use the table of exact atomic masses given in Appendix 8 to calculate the
binding energy in (i) MeV and (ii) MeV per nucleon of (a) a tritium atom 13H,
(b) helium-3 (23He), (c) N-14, (d) O-16.
Practice questions
*18 In a Millikan oil drop experiment, an oil drop of mass 1.077 1015 kg is held
stationary between a pair of electric plates held 2.0 cm apart. The voltage across
the plates is 110 V. Assume g = 9.8 m s2.
(a) What is the magnitude of the electric field between the plates?
(b) What is the charge on the oil drop? How many elementary charges is this
equivalent to?
*19 Write down the number of protons and neutrons in (a) 20872 Pb; (b) 3157 Cl; (c) 157 N;
(d) At-215; (e) Bi-216.
*20 (a) Distinguish between nucleon, nucleus, nuclide and neutron. (b) Do neutron
and nucleus come from the same Greek roots? If not, what is the difference?
*21 Calcium has four isotopes with atomic masses of 40, 42, 43 and 45. (a) Write
their symbols. (b) How many (i) neutrons and (ii) nucleons does each have?

**22 Calculate (a) the mass defect and (b) binding energy (MeV/nucleon) for
(i) 3156 S; (ii) 23952 U; (iii) Cd-113; (iv) Li-7. See Appendix 8 for masses.
***23 Discuss the concept that progress in science depends on the development of the
necessary equipment and technology to perform key experiments. Cite examples
from history to illustrate your arguments.
**24 Figure 27.20 shows a simple arrangement of a cathode ray tube.
(a) Briefly explain why (i) the filament is heated; (ii) the electrons accelerate
between the filament and the anode A.
(b) What effect, if any, is there on the number of electrons to the right of the
anode if (i) the low voltage supply is increased; (ii) the high voltage
supply is increased?
Figure 27.20
For question 25. filament
anode A
low screen
voltage
+
glass
tube
10 000 V

***25 In a Millikan oil drop experiment, the potential difference between two large
horizontal plates, 2.4 cm apart, is 1200 V. A tiny plastic sphere with a deficiency
of three electrons is introduced into the electric field between the plates and it
remains stationary. What is the mass of the sphere?
***26 Charged latex spheres can be used in Millikan experiments. One particular
negatively charged sphere of mass 3.52 1014 kg is held stationary between two
charged horizontal plates by an electric field of strength 9.8 104 V m1. How
many excess electrons are there on the sphere?
**27 Figures 27.21(a) to (e) show paths of two particles being deflected by a heavy
nucleus. Which of the diagrams correctly represent(s) the deflection of two
particles of the same energy?
Figure 27.21 (a)
A (b)
B (c)
C (d)
D (e) E
For question 28.
***28 An oil drop is held stationary between a pair of horizontal plates X and Y as
shown in Figure 27.22(a). The oil drop has a charge of +6.4 1019 C. If the
plates are turned through 90 as shown in Figure 27.22(b), in which direction
will the droplet now move?
Figure 27.22 (a) (b)

For question 29.
A
X H B
X Y
G C
Y
F D
E

CHAPTER 28
Nuclear Physics
28.1 T H E ATO M I C A G E
Radioactivity and nuclear energy have become some of the most important concerns facing
society since the Second World War. The benefits to society are immense but so too are the
problems they bring. In this chapter we will be examining some aspects of nuclear physics
that will help to answer questions such as these:
When you irradiate food with gamma rays, does the food become radioactive?
Can you accurately tell the age of bones millions of years old?
If gamma radiation can go straight through the body, how can it kill cancer tumours?
Why do you need a fission bomb to start a fusion bomb?
Why does an airline pilot get exposed to more radiation than an air traveller?
I thought electrons were negatively charged; how can you get a positive one?
28.2 P R O P E RT I E S O F N U C L E A R R A D I AT I O N
In the previous chapter, the history and properties of nuclear radiation were described. Lets
expand on these:
Any radiation that can remove an electron from an atom and create a heavy positive
ion and free electron is termed ionising radiation. Ionising radiations include
electromagnetic radiation (gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation) as well as
energetic particles such as alpha and beta particles. Gamma rays are said to be
nuclear radiation because they are created within the nucleus; X-rays come from the
electron cloud around the nucleus.
By the early 1900s, the properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation had been
measured, allowing physicists to better understand the process of radioactivity. The
Figure 28.1
deflection of the particles in a magnetic field is shown in Figure 28.1(a) and how (a) Deflection of alpha, beta and
they pass through matter is shown in Figure 28.1(b). gamma rays by a magnetic field.
(b) Ionising ability.
(a) alpha gamma beta (b)

photographic plate

magnetic field B
(into page)

radioactive source
lead container

A l p h a ( ) p a r t i cl e s 42 H e
As they collide with matter, alpha particles slow down, transferring their kinetic energy to the
other molecules, shaking many of them apart and leaving a trail of positive and negative ions
in their wake.
B e t a ( ) p a r t i cl e s 0
1e
Beta particles are electrons moving at high speed ranging from 0.3 to 0.99 times the speed
of light (3 108 m s1). Because of their speed and smallness, they are more penetrating than
alpha particles and can travel about 1 m in air before slowing down to become just like the
surrounding electrons.
G a m m a ( ) r ay s
Gamma radiation differs from alpha and beta radiation in that it is not made up of charged
particles and is not deflected in electric or magnetic fields. Instead, gamma rays are electro-
magnetic radiation of extremely short wavelength (about 1013 m). Since they have no charge
they have tremendous penetrating power because they interact with the absorbing material
only via a direct head-on collision with an electron or nucleus. Materials such as lead are good
absorbers of gamma radiation mainly because of their high electron density. Even so, gamma
rays can still penetrate up to 10 cm of lead.
D E T E C T I N G N U C L E A R R A D I AT I O N 28.3
One of the most common means of detecting radiation is by GeigerMller counters but
also used are photographic plates, electroscopes, spark chambers and cloud chambers, and by
fluorescence.
Fluorescence
When ionising radiation strikes certain substances such as ZnS, diamond or barium platino-
cyanide, a large number of individual flashes or scintillations can be seen under a microscope.
Tedious counting of flashes over a set period was used by Rutherford and his co-workers
in the early 1900s. These scintillation detectors slowly lost favour until 1947, when
photomultiplier tubes were developed to count the scintillations electrically. Today, semi-
conductor detectors are used.
Photographic plates
Becquerels discovery of radioactive emissions was based on the fogging of photographic
plates. As the ionising particles strike the silver chloride or bromide grains in the gelatin
emulsion on the plate they change them into silver atoms. On development, the silver is
fixed and the unaffected salts are removed. This leaves a permanent photographic record of
the particles tracks.
A c t i v i t y 2 8 . 1 P H OTO D E T E C T I V E
If you print your own photos or know someone who does, you may like to test the effect
of nuclear radiation on an unexposed sheet of photographic paper.
1 Place a sheet of the paper in one of the black plastic bags it normally comes in
and tape it closed.
N u cl e a r P h y s i c s 617
2 Under teacher supervision, place three radioactive specimens, one each of ,

and -type radiation, on top of the plastic for an hour and record their positions.
3 Develop the paper and see if the results agree with both the penetrating
properties mentioned above and the ability of the radiation to fog the paper.
4 Was the image clear? How could you test it without the plastic bag?
Electroscope
Marie Curie measured the activity of fluorescent salts using an electrometer, invented by her
husband Pierre and his brother Jacques. It is based on the principle of the electroscope,
which should be familier to you (Figure 28.2). When the air surrounding a negatively charged
electroscope is ionised, the positive ions will be attracted to the electroscope and cause the
leaves to collapse. The rate of collapse will be proportional to the ionisation produced in the
air above. The electrometer is similar but has a pointer instead of leaves.
Figure 28.2
ionising A leaf electroscope.
positive ions
radiation
attracted to the
+ + cap of the
+ electroscope

leaves fall
as charge is

lessened
negatively charged
electroscope
GeigerMller counters
Figure 28.3 shows a GeigerMller tube, commonly known as a Geiger counter. It consists
of a thin positively charged central wire surrounded by a negatively charged tube filled with
a low pressure inert gas. When a radioactive particle enters the tube through the window, it
ionises a few atoms. The resulting free electrons are drawn to the positive wire. However, the
electric field is so strong that these electrons gain sufficient energy to ionise more atoms of
gas. More free electrons are created and the process is repeated many times. This avalanche
of electrons is collected by the central wire, creating a signal used to record the passage of
the original particle of radiation.
Figure 28.3
radiation low pressure gas A GeigerMller tube.
-
e e-
+++++ e- ++++++++++++
wire +
tube
Cloud chambers and bubble chambers

The cloud chamber was invented by Scotsman Charles Wilson (18691959) and is based on
the tendancy of drops of moisture to condense on gaseous ions. When an ionising particle

passes through air that is supersaturated with water or other vapour, the liquid droplets form
a visible cloud track indicating the path of the particle. Cloud chambers consist of a small
container in which a small amount of alcohol is added and the resulting vapour cooled with
dry ice (40C) to cause condensation. Vapour trails behind jet aircraft are from a similar
process of condensation. The tracks of alpha particles can be readily seen as white lines
against a black background. They are short, wide tracks. Beta particles produce longer
thinner tracks.
Figure 28.4 felt soaked in alcohol supersaturated

A cloud chamber. alcohol vapour
tracks on black source

background
sponge to hold
dry ice (40) dry ice in place
Photo 28.1
A bubble chamber.
In 1952 Glasser invented the bubble chamber, which uses a superheated liquid (e.g.
liquid H2 or isopentane) instead of a supercooled vapour. Radioactive particles ionise the
liquid and the resulting positive ions provide sites for the formation of bubbles from the boil-
ing liquid. The bubbles show the path of the radiation. The advantage of the bubble chamber
is that it can show tracks of very short-lived high-energy particles such as the type produced
by particle accelerators. The low gas density in the cloud chamber is insufficient to cause
interactions with these short-lived particles.
Spark chambers
A spark chamber consists of a set of parallel plates spaced closely together. Alternate plates
are grounded and the ones in between are kept at a very high voltage (about 10 kV). When a
charged particle passes them, the ions produced in the gas leave a trail of ions and electrons
Figure 28.5 between the plates, providing a conducting path for a spark to jump. (See Figure 28.5.)
Path of an ionising particle in
a spark chamber.
Particle
Activity 28.2 INTERFACING THE GEIGER COUNTER
After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion in the Ukraine in 1986, Russian
authorities tried to withhold news of the leak for as long as possible. Meanwhile, in
+ spark
London, several senior physics students had interfaced their schools Geiger counter to a
spark computer and left it running over the weekend to monitor background radiation in London.
spark They were completely unaware of the accident in Russia. When they examined the data on
+
the Monday morning, they were astonished to see that they had logged incredibly high
particle
radiation levels. They thought it was a mistake but they soon realised that they were the
first people in England to detect that the radioactive plume had crossed the English
Channel. They beat all the Governments sophisticated monitoring equipment. What a buzz!
10 kV Most school Geiger counters have sockets for output to external devices. Can you
design a simple interface that will enable you to connect the Geiger counter to one of the
ports of a computer? Hint: you could use the parallel port and write a program that reads
when the appropriate pin goes high and increments a counter. This will be no easy task!
You will need expert help but you could probably sell it to your school.
Questions
1 Each of the devices mentioned has different strengths and weaknesses. Make a
list to compare each device.
2 (a) List radiation detectors that make use of (i) ionising ability; (ii) the
photoelectric effect. (b) Both the cloud chamber and the bubble chamber show
the tracks of radioactive emissions. Explain the basic difference in the way
they work.
28.4 NUCLEAR STABILITY AND RADIOACTIVE DECAY

Transmutations
For centuries, medieval researchers sought in vain for a material that could turn ordinary
metals such as lead into the precious metal gold a process they called transmutation
(Latin trans = across, mutare = change). These people were called alchemists (Greek chyma
= to fuse a metal). They developed numerous techniques that are still used in laboratories
today, such as distillation, crystallisation, sublimation and fusion. They derived many useful
compounds in the process, such as caustic soda, red lead, tin oxide and various alloys; but
they used many substances not commonly found in laboratories today: hair, skull, brains, bile,
blood, milk, urine and horn. No wonder they didnt turn lead into gold. But it wasnt the
chemicals that caused them to fail; it was their underlying theory of matter. The alchemists
believed in Aristotles four-element theory (earth, wind, fire and water). Until this was
overthrown, science couldnt progress.
Little did they know that in nature many atoms transmute from one form to another
in the normal course of events. When atoms transmute they are said to be radioactive and
particles are emitted by the nucleus. These particles can be alpha, beta or a neutron. In
many cases a gamma ray is also emitted. The question that bothered physicists was why some
nuclei were radioactive (e.g. uranium) and why some were stable (lead) and stayed unchanged
indefinitely. The answer lies in the way the nucleus is structured.
Nuclear forces
The nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. However, the protons are positively charged
and because they are almost touching, the electrostatic repulsive force is enormous. But why
dont they fly apart? The answer lies in the role of the neutrons. The neutrons serve two
purposes first, to add some distance between the protons to reduce the repulsive force
and, second, to act as a nuclear glue. This gluing force is called the strong force. As the
number of protons increases, the number of neutrons must also increase. This strong force
binds adjacent nucleons together. It is a very short-ranged force because, unlike the electro-
static force that decreases as the inverse square of the distance, the strong force decreases
rapidly. When nucleons are just a few diameters apart, the strong force is nearly zero.
For the smaller nuclei, the number of neutrons required for stability is about the same
as the number of protons present (that is, a n/p ratio of 1:1). For example, the most stable
isotope of oxygen is 168O. It has eight protons and eight neutrons. Similarly, ordinary carbon
is 126C (6p, 6n). But as the number of protons increases, the number of neutrons required for
stability increases more the n/p ratio becomes greater than 1:1. For example, stable zinc
66Zn, which has thirty protons and thirty-six neutrons so the n/p ratio is 1.17. Table 28.1
is 30
lists some common examples. Note that the n/p ratio starts at 1.00 and has increased to 1.59
for uranium. Figure 28.6 shows a plot of neutron number against proton number. There are no
completely stable nuclides above a proton number (Z) of 82.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 S O M E N / P R AT I O S
STABLE NUCLIDE PROTONS ( Z ) NEUTRONS ( N ) n/p RATIO
16 O 8 8 1.00
8
65 Zn 30 35 1.17
30
207Pb 82 125 1.52
82
238 U 92 146 1.59
92

130
Figure 28.6
Graph of a proton (or atomic)
120
number Z, versus a neutron
number N, for naturally
110
occurring isotopes.
100
90
Number of neutrons (AZ)

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Number of protons (Z)
The particle zoo

The 1930s were to witness a new burst of radioactivity research even greater than the two
previous bursts in 1895 (Curie, Thompson, Becquerel) and 1912 (Rutherford, Bohr). In 1932
Chadwick discovered the neutron and, very soon afterwards, American physicist Carl Anderson
discovered another fundamental particle, the positive electron or positron. The existence
of the positron had been predicted by Paul Dirac several years earlier. This was a major devel-
opment in physics. Further discussion of the positron and other fundamental particles
is reserved for the following chapter. The important particles discussed so far are shown in
Table 28.2.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 2 S Y M B O L S O F ATO M I C PA RT I C L E S
PARTICLE SYMBOL
Alpha particle () 4He
2
Proton 1H or 11p
1
Neutron 1n
0
Electron ( particle) 0
1e
Positron 0
+1e
Gamma ray
Radioactive decay
The world is made up of stable nuclei all atoms dont just disintegrate in front of us. But
there are some atoms that are radioactive and decay or disintegrate into other types of atoms.
Some nuclei, such as Pa-221, may only last for 6 microseconds whereas lead-206 will last for
billions of years and is said to be infinitely stable. Between these two extremes are nuclei
that may exist for seconds, hours, days or years before decaying. Lead-214 will, on average,
last for 27 minutes before giving off and particles.
When the original unstable parent nucleus decays it produces a daughter nucleus and at
least one other particle. The reaction can be written like the normal chemical equation:
Parent nucleus daughter nucleus + particle(s)

238U 23 4Th + 24He
92 90
In all cases it can be seen that:

The sum of the atomic masses on the left of the equation must be the same as
the sum of the atomic masses on the right.
In the case above the 234 + 4 = 238, so this rule is obeyed.
The total charge on the left-hand side of the equation must equal the total
charge on the right-hand side.
Charge refers to the nuclear charge and that of its emitted particles. A proton has a
charge of +1; an electron ( particle) has a charge of 1. In the case above, the
left-hand side shows 92 protons, so the charge is +92 or simply 92. The sum of the
nuclear charges on the right is 90 + 2 = 92; so the rule is obeyed.
Another important rule is:
The number of protons (atomic number) determines the name and symbol of the
element.
A mistake students often make when trying to work out the symbol for the daughter
nucleus is to use the atomic mass and not the atomic number.
Example
Balance the following radioactive decay:
22 6Ra
88 24He + ?
Solution
Step 1: The atomic masses (the top numbers) have to be equal to 226 on both sides; the
daughter nucleus must have an atomic mass of 226 4 = 222.
Step 2: The nuclear charges (the bottom numbers) have to be equal to 88: the daughter must
have a charge of 88 2 = 86.
Step 3: The nuclear charge (atomic number) determines the name of the element; Z = 86 refers
to radon.
Note: the top number (222) is not used to find the name of the atom.
Step 4: Write equation: 22886Ra 24He + 22862Rn.
Questions
3 State the number of neutrons and protons in the following: (a) 22886Ra; (b) 11H;
(c) 23939Np.
4 What element is represented by X in each of the following: (a) 22886X; (b) 11X;
(c) 24977X; (d) 3882X?
5 Balance the following equations:
83Bi 1e + ?
214 0
(a)
93Np +1e + ?
239 0
(b)
88Ra 86Rn +
226 222
(c) ?
20Ca 1e + ?
45 0
(d)
29Cu +1e + ?
58 0
(e)
94Pu 2He + ?
234 4
(f)

T Y P E S O F D E C AY 28.5
There are three main ways that nuclei decay naturally. They are alpha decay, beta decay and
positron decay.
These types of decay are associated with three unstable states of a nuclide:
too many neutrons (beta decay)
too many protons (positron decay)
too many protons and neutrons too much mass (alpha decay).
Alpha decay
Atoms heavier than uranium-238 do not occur naturally. We can produce them artificially
but they have too many neutrons and protons to be stable; in other words, they have too
much mass for the nuclear glue to work. Such atoms decay by alpha emission and the parent
nucleus loses two protons and two neutrons as a fast moving, energetic alpha particle. The
alpha particles emitted have discrete kinetic energies, usually up to 10 MeV.
AX A 4 Y + 24He + energy ()
Z Z 2
23 6 Pa 23 2Ac + 24He +
91 89
Alpha decay occurs because the strong nuclear force is unable to hold large nuclei
together. Because the strong nuclear force is a short-range force, it acts only between neigh-
bouring nucleons. But the repulsive electrostatic force can act across the whole nucleus. For
very large nuclei, the large number of protons means that the total repulsive force is great
compared with the attractive strong nuclear force, which cannot hold the nucleus together.
The only way to achieve stability is to shed some protons and neutrons. This occurs in
packets of 2 p and 2 n, that is, the helium nucleus 24He, known as an alpha () particle.
Beta decay
There are two types of beta particles: beta minus (the electron) and beta plus (the positron).
Each type is associated with a different type of instability in a nuclide. From now on, beta
decay will refer to the electron () and positron decay will be used for +.
Beta decay occurs when there is a surplus of neutrons.
A beta particle is an electron that has come from the nucleus. The symbol 10 e stands
for an electron whose charge is 1 (i.e. Z = 1) and negligible atomic mass (A = 0). When a
parent nucleus emits a beta particle, the daughter nuclide produced has the same mass
number as the parent:
A
ZX A
Z+1Y + 0
1e + energy ()
Two examples of beta decay are:
23 9U 23 9Np + 0
92 93 1e
23 4Pa 23 4U + 0
91 92 1e
It can be seen that the number of nucleons has not changed but the daughter has one more
proton than the parent. It is as if one of the neutrons has changed into a proton and in the
process (to conserve charge) has given off an electron. In fact, neutrons actually do decay
in this manner. Outside the nucleus, neutrons only last for about 11 seconds before this
reaction occurs.
1
0n 11p + 0
1e
In the 1920s, accurate measurements of the masses of reactants and products in beta decay
showed that the masses were not equal. Some mass appeared to be lost. Physicists were trou-
bled at the prospect of the law of conservation of mass being violated. In 1930, Wolfgang
Pauli proposed an alternative solution: the missing mass was being carried off by a particle
of zero charge and negligible mass that made it difficult to detect. The Italian physicist Enrico
Fermi (190154) suggested the name neutrino meaning little neutral one. The symbol for
the neutrino is the Greek letter nu (). A bar is place over the symbol () to indicate that
in beta decay an antineutrino is formed. An antineutrino is an antiparticle to the normal
neutrino more on that in Chapter 29. For the moment, you do not have to include the
neutrino in your equations (unless your teacher says so). Neutrinos are flooding through your
head right now but nothing much stops them. In fact, it has been estimated that you would
need a lead block 90 light years thick to stop about 50% of them.
Positron decay
When a nuclide has a surplus of protons it undergoes positron decay:
Z X Z 1 Y
A A 0
+ +1 e + energy ()
23 9Np 23 9U + 0
93 92 +1 e
A positron is a positive electron +10 e, or e+. It has the same mass as an electron (A = 0)
but it has the opposite charge, so its atomic number is said to be Z = +1, the same as its
charge. It is sometimes called a beta plus (+) to distinguish it from ordinary beta radiation,
which is then called beta minus (). In this book we will use the terms beta radiation
meaning an electron and positron radiation as its opposite or antiparticle. In positron decay,
the number of nucleons (the top number) does not change. But as the number of protons
decreases, it appears that a proton has been changed into a neutron and a positron ejected.
When a positron and an electron collide they annihilate each other and give out a burst of
gamma rays, which travel in opposite directions, a process made use of in positron emission
tomography (PET). This is discussed in Chapter 33 on Medical Physics.
English physicist Paul Dirac predicted the existence of the positron in the late 1920s and
American physicist Carl Anderson was awarded the Nobel prize in 1936 for his discovery of
it in a cosmic ray shower. In fact, it is now believed that all particles have antiparticles,
protons and antiprotons for example.
Predicting the type of decay

The graph of proton number versus neutron number is repeated in more detail in Figure 28.7.
From it you can see what type of decay will occur in unstable nuclides.
Beta decay will occur in those nuclides that are above the line of stability.
Positron decay will occur in those nuclides that are below the line of stability.
Beta decay is typical in nuclides with a higher proportion of neutrons than in the stable
isotopes of the same element. The opposite is true for positron decay, so that nuclides that
undergo these two forms of decay lie on either side of the band of stable nuclides.

40
Figure 28.7
Predicting the type of decay from 35
the stability graph. The band of
Number of protons (Z)

stable nuclei is shown by the 30
black dots. Note that in this graph
25
the number of neutrons is on
the x-axis.
20
15
beta decay
10 stable nuclide
5 positron decay
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Number of neutrons (N)
Gamma decay
In pure gamma decay there is no change to the numbers of protons or neutrons and therefore
no transmutation. It is a release of energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation of a
particular wavelength and frequency.
Remember, a gamma ray is an electromagnetic radiation that originates from within the
nucleus. An X-ray, on the other hand, is an electromagnetic radiation originating from the
electron cloud surrounding the nucleus.
Questions
6 Complete the following equations:
(a) 32
15 P 0
1 e +?
(b) 234
90Th ?+ 234
91Pa
(c) 22
11Na ?+ 0
+1 e
(d) 01n ? + 11H

(e) 11H + 10e ?
7 What are the parent nuclei for each of the following daughter nuclei produced by
alpha decay: (a) 20816Tl; (b) thallium-210; (c) Po-218; (d) Pb-206?
8 Write equations for the beta decay of (a) C-14; (b) Na-24; (c) P-32.
9 Write equations for the positron decay of (a) 22Na; (b) 18F; (c) 19Ne; (d) 199Pb.
HALF-LIFE 28.6
Radioactive decay is a random event, just as a car accident is a statistically random event.
There is no means of predicting whether a particular driver will be involved in a crash.
However, it is possible to say statistically how many crashes will happen in Australia each
year. The more cars, the more accidents.
In a similar way, it is quite impossible to predict when a particular nucleus will decay but
it is possible to predict the number of nuclei that will decay in a given time from a particu-
lar source. Likewise, if you throw 100 coins into the air, you can reliably predict that about
50 will come down heads and 50 tails; but you cant say what a particular coin will do.
For example, N-13 decays to C-12 by positron emission:
13
7N 126C + 0
+1 e
If we had 10 000 N-13 atoms, about 12 of them would decay in 1 second (12 s1). We say
the decay rate or activity (A) is 12 disintegrations per second (dps) or A = 12 s1. So after
1 second there would be 9988 left. After another second about 12 more N-13 atoms would
decay and there would be 9976 left. But as the number of N-13 atoms decreases so too does
the decay rate. After 10 minutes, there would be about 5000 N-13 atoms left (i.e. half the
starting number) and the decay rate would be 6 disintegrations per second. When another 10
minutes had elapsed, there would be about 2500 atoms of N-13 left and the decay rate would
be down to 3 dps. The period of 10 minutes in which it takes half the N-13 atoms to decay
is called the half-life (t1/2). It also represents the time taken for the decay rate to fall to
half its original rate. The SI unit for activity is Becquerel (Bq), so 1 Bq = 1 disintegration
per second (1 dps or 1 s1). In less active substances, the activity may be expressed as
disintegrations per minute (dpm).
Table 28.3 summarises the data. The decay is shown graphically in Figure 28.8.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 3 D E C AY O F N I T R O G E N - 1 3 I S OTO P E
TIME ELAPSED ( t ) NUMBER OF N-13 ATOMS DECAY RATE ( A )
(MINUTES) REMAINING ( N ) (Bq)
0 10 000 12
10 5000 6
20 2500 3
30 1250 1.5
40 625 0.75
10 000 Figure 28.8

Graph of nitrogen-13 decay.
half the number to start with
nuclei remaining
after one half-life

No of N13
5000
half the number again
after another half-life
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time elapsed (min)
Half-lives can be very short or very long (Table 28.4).
Ta b l e 2 8 . 4 H A L F - L I F E O F S O M E I S OTO P E S
NUCLIDE DECAY HALF-LIFE
206Pb stable infinite
234U 4.51 billion years
234Th , 24.1 days
222Rn 3.82 days
218Po 3.05 min
214Po 1.64 104 s
1H proton 1037 years

The half-life of a radioactive isotope is the time taken for half the radioactive atoms in
a sample to decay.
Other things in nature have a If N0 = number of parent nuclei at start, and N = number of atoms at end of the time period:
after 1 half-life: N = N0 2
1
half-life. For example, t1/2
for human protein is 80 days,
after n half-lives: N = N0 ( 2 )n.
1
for rat muscle it is 21 days, and
for rat blood 6 days. In Example:
non-mammals half-life values Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days and undergoes beta decay according to the equation:
are much lower because they
53I 54Xe + 1e. If a milk sample contains 3 10 atoms at a particular time, calculate
131 131 0 18
have lower temperatures.
(a) the number remaining after 60 days; (b) the time that would have to elapse for there to
How is this different from
nuclear half-lives?
be 1 million atoms left.
Solution
(a) Number of half-lives elapsed (n) = 60 = 7.5.
8
1 n 1 7.5
N = N0 = 3 10 18 = 1.6 10 16 atoms
2 2
Note: one way to do this on your calculator is to enter: 3 EXP 1 8 . 5 xy 7 . 5 =
(b) n
N = N0 1
2
n
1 106 = 3 1018 1
2
1 106 = 1
n
3 1018 2
n
3.333 1013 = 1
2
n
log 3.333 1013 = log 1 = n log 1
2 2
12.48 = n 0.301
12.48
n= = 41.46 half-lives
0.301
= 41.46 8 days
= 332 days
Note: instead of specifying N and N0 as meaning the number of atoms, it could also mean the
mass of the nuclide in a specimen. The formula still works.
Decay series
Sometimes a radioactive isotope decays into another isotope that is also radioactive.
Sometimes the daughter decays into another isotope, which decays further and so on. This
successive chain of decays is called a decay series. A good example is shown in Figure 28.9
in which U-238 decays by alpha emission to Th-234, which in turn decays by beta emission
and so on until the stable isotope Pb-206 is reached. In an alpha decay 24He is lost so
the atomic mass decreases by 4 and the atomic number decreases by 2. This appears as a
diagonal arrow. Beta emission (in which n p) has no effect on atomic mass so it appears
as an arrow to the right. Positron emission appears as an arrow to the left.
238
238 92 U
Figure 28.9

234 234 234
234 90 Th 91 Pa 92 U

+
230
230 90 Th

Atomic mass (A)
222
226 88 Ra

222
222 86 Rn

218 218 218

218 84 Po 85 At 86 Rn

214 214 214
214 82 Pb 83 Bi 84Po

210 210 210

210 82 Pb 83 Bi 84Po

206 206
81 Tl
206
82Pb
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92
Atomic number (Z)
In the uraniumlead decay series, note that there are several paths the sequence can
take. For example, Po-218 can decay by alpha emission to Pb-204 or by beta emission to
At-218 and so on. The series ends at the stable lead isotope Pb-206. Other radioactive series
also exist.
28.7 L AW S O F R A D I OA C T I V E D E C AY
Several laws and mathematical relationships have been developed for radioactivity. It was
Rutherford in 1919 who first suggested that radioactive decay was an exponential process.
His work underpins most of the laws we have today.
Activity
The rate at which a radioactive nuclide decays is called its activity (A). The SI unit for
activity is the becquerel (Bq), which represents one disintegration per second (dis s1 or dps).
For example, a sample in which 12 atoms decay in one second is said to have an activity of
12 disintegrations per second (dps); that is A = 12 Bq. If you use a Geiger counter to mea-
sure activity in the classroom, you would most likely measure the number of disintegrations
over a longer period of time, say, 1 minute, and calculate the activity by dividing the count
(disintegrations) by the time elapsed in seconds; this would give activity in Bq. You could
also express activity as the number of disintegrations per minute (dis min1 or dpm).
The activity law

In an earlier example, the rate of decay of a nitrogen-13 atom was discussed:
13N
7 12C
6 + 0
+1 e
At the start of the experiment, the sodium was undergoing 12 disintegrations per second
(12 Bq); after 10 minutes its activity had dropped to 6 Bq and after a further 10 minutes it
had dropped to just 3 Bq (Table 28.5).
Ta b l e 2 8 . 5 D E C AY O F N - 1 3 N U C L I D E S
TIME ELAPSED NUMBER OF RADIOACTIVE ACTIVITY
(MINUTES) ATOMS REMAINING, N (Bq)
0 10 000 12
10 5 000 6
20 2 500 3

Inspection of the data shows that the activity is directly proportional to the number of
radioactive atoms remaining in the sample:
AN
or, by replacing the proportional sign with an equal sign and a constant, A = N. The
constant, , is called the disintegration constant. It has the same unit as the unit of
the activity. If activity is in Bq (i.e. s1), then the disintegration constant will also have the
same unit (s1).
Example 1
Calculate the disintegration constant for the above data.
Solution
A = N
12 s1
= A = = 1.2 10 3 s 1
N 10 000
Example 2
The disintegration constant of Ra-226 is 4.3 104 y1. Calculate the number of atoms in a
sample of radium-226 that has an activity of 3 kBq.
Solution
The disintegration constant is given in y1 and has to be converted to s1 because activity
is measured in s1:
4.3 104 4.3 104

= = 365 24 60 60 seconds = 1.36 10 11 s 1
1 year
A 3 103
N = = 1.36 1011 = 2.2 10 14 atoms
Exponential decay law

In maths, you may have learnt the general exponential decay law: N = N0 ekt, where e is the
base of the natural logarithm, k is the rate constant, and t is time elapsed. In radioactive
decay, the formula becomes:
N = N 0 e t or A = A 0 e t
where the Greek letter lambda () is the disintegration constant. The relationship between
the disintegration constant and half-life is derived in the following manner:
N = N 0 e t or N = e t
N0
Take the natural logarithm (loge or ln) of both sides:

ln N = t
N0
Half-life is defined as the time that one-half of the radioactive atoms in a sample will decay;
that is, when:
N = 1 N 0 and t is replaced by t ,
1
2
1
hence ln 1 N0 = t or ln 2 = t
1 1
N0 2 2
ln 2 = t 1
2
ln 2

t =
1
2
0.693
t =
1
2
0.693
or disintegration constant () = .
t 1
2
Example
The half-life of Ra-226 is 1620 years. Calculate its disintegration constant, .
Solution
The disintegration constant for Ra-226 is calculated by:
= 0.693
1620
= 4.3 10 4 y 1
Questions
124
10 55Cs has a half-life of 31 s. (a) Calculate its decay constant in s1 and min1;
(b) if there was 20.0 g of Cs-124 to start with, state how much will be left
(in grams) after (i) 62 s, (ii) 124 s, (iii) 10 minutes.
11 (a) 68
32Ge has a half-life of 9.0 minutes. How many minutes will it take for the
germanium in a 1.00 g sample to decay to 1.00 mg?
(b) If its activity at a particular time is 3.55 kBq, how many minutes will elapse
before its activity is 250 Bq?
12 A sample of 137N (t 21 = 10.0 minutes) contains 6.90 1016 atoms of N-13.
(a) Calculate its decay constant; (b) state its initial activity; (c) state its activity
after (i) 1 hour, (ii) 6 hours; (d) state after how long will its activity be 1 Bq.
Activity 28.3 ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY

1 Spreadsheet decay If you have access to a computer and spreadsheet, see if the
following challenges you.
Imagine you had a Tc-99m isotope (t 12 = 6 hours) with an initial activity, A0,
of 1000 Bq. Develop cell formulas that will calculate the activity, A, of the
sample every hour for 24 hours. Hint: appropriate formulas are: A = A0(12)n or
A = A0et.
Set up a column that will calculate the number of nuclei remaining, N.
Hint: use A = N.
Set up a column that will calculate the natural logarithm of activity, ln A.
Plot A vs t, N vs t and ln A vs t. Are they what you would expect?
Print out a page of the results, including the graphs.
2 Random programming If you are sufficiently familiar with computer
programming, write a program that will simulate the decay of a collection of
radioactive nuclei. Use whatever language you like (e.g. BASIC, Pascal, C++).

Start with 1000 nuclei (N0).

Use a random number generator to determine if any nuclei will decay.
Hint: generate a random number between 0 and 10; if number >5 = will
decay; <5 = will not decay.
Subtract 1 if decay; determine number of nuclei remaining, N.
Draw a graph of N vs t.
Hand in a printout of the code and the output.
A N A LY S I S O F E X P E R I M E N TA L DATA 28.8
The meticulous and often dangerous collection of data on rates of decay helped scientists to
uncover the structure of the nucleus and develop an understanding of radioactivity. This goes
on today, even in school laboratories.
The exponential decay law is written:
N = N 0 e t
Because A is proportional to N, we can rewrite this as:
A = A 0 e t
If we take natural logs of both sides:
ln A = ln A 0 t
This can be arranged to give:

Figure 28.10
At time curve is exponential
(a) whereas ln At is a straight line. ln A ln A 0 =
t
(a)(a)
Graphing
300
As the rate of radioactive decay is exponential, a graph of activity vs time should show an
Disintegration rate
exponential curve (Figure 28.10(a)), whereas a graph of the log of activity (ln A) vs time
(dis min1)
200
should be a straight line (Figure 28.10(b)).
ln A ln A0
100
The slope of the ln A vs t graph is equal to , which is equal to according to
t
the previous equation.
0 Example
0 10 20 30 A sample of radioactive actinium Ac-288 has an initial activity of 363 disintegrations per
t (hours)
minute and its activity is measured in a laboratory every six hours. The results are shown in
(b) Table 28.6.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 6 D E C AY O F A c - 2 8 8 N U C L I D E S
6
TIME ELAPSED (h) ACTIVITY (DISINTEGRATIONS/MIN) In A
ln A
5 0 363.0 5.89
6 184.0 5.21
4
12 93.2 4.53
18 47.3 3.85
3
0 10 20 30 24 24.0 3.18
t (hours)
Plot a graph of ln A vs t and calculate the half-life.
Solution
Refer to Figure 28.10(b).
Slope = 3.18 5.89

24
= 0.113 h 1
= slope = +0.113 h 1
t = 0.693 = 0.693 = 6.13 hours

1
2
0.113 h1
Notes:
The unit of time for the disintegration constant will automatically be the same as
the unit for time elapsed. In this case hour was the unit of time.
The unit of time used for activity does not have to be the same as the unit for time
elapsed. You may recall that in the exponential decay law formula, activity appeared
on both sides of the equation and the time unit would cancel out. Minutes were
chosen in this experiment to get more accurate results.
You may ask why all the data collection was necessary when only a starting and final
activity are necessary in the formula. In experimental determination of half-life,
many data are collected and plotted to improve accuracy. It is just good scientific
practice.
Questions
13 Phosphorus-32 is a positron emitter that gives the stable isotope Si-30. The
activity of a sample was measured every minute in order to measure its half-life.
The results are shown in Table 28.7.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 7
t (min) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12
A (Bq) 5000 3840 2915 2220 1723 1293 977 745 617 361 209
Plot ln A against time and determine its half-life.

14 The radioactive isotope Kr-88 undergoes gamma decay. The activity of the
isotope was measured every 30 minutes as shown in Table 28.8.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 8
t (min) 0 30 60 90 120
A (Bq) 88 78 69 61 52
(a) Plot ln A vs t.
(b) Determine the disintegration constant (s1).
(c) Determine the half-life.
Radioactive dating
The universe is believed to be somewhere between 8 billion and 15 billion years old. Our Earth
has been around for over 4 billion (4 109) years of that. Grains of the mineral zircon
from gneiss rocks have been measured as being 3.962 billion years old, with a three million
year margin of error. The estimate is based on the belief that small amounts of radioactive
uranium-238 were trapped in the zircon at the time of crystallisation. Since then the uranium
has gradually been decaying, eventually into stable lead. The age calculation is done by
measuring the amounts of lead and uranium trapped in the rock and by knowing the half-life
of U-238, the age t can be calculated.

The age of any object made from previously living material such as wood can be
estimated using radiocarbon dating. All living plants take in and excrete carbon dioxide. The
vast majority of the C atoms is present as the isotope C-12 but a very small fraction (about
1.3 1010%) is the radioactive isotope C-14. The ratio has remained constant for thousands
of years because even though C-14 decays (with a half-life of 5730 years), more is being
made by the cosmic radiation from space bombarding nitrogen in the atmosphere:
14N
7 + 01n 14C
6 + 11H
When plants and animals die they stop exchanging C-14 with the atmosphere so the C-14
decays without being replaced. So the C-14:C-12 ratio drops. After 5730 years, it would be
half the normal ratio. If the ratio can be determined, then the time that has elapsed since
death can be established.
Questions
15 A piece of wood from a giant redwood tree has a C-14 ratio only one-quarter of
that found in living tissue. How old is the wood?
16 For hundreds of years the Shroud of Turin has been claimed to be the burial
garment of Jesus. Recently, a sample was analysed and found to have a C-14
count of 92% of that found in living tissue. (a) How old is the shroud?
(b) What is controversial about the answer? (c) If it really was from Jesuss time,
what would be the amount of C-14 as a percentage of the C-14 in living tissue?
T R A N S M U TAT I O N S B Y N U C L E A R R E A C T I O N 28.9
A nuclear reaction happens when there is a change in the structure of the nucleus.
Nuclear reactions can be classified as either:
natural radioactive decay, or
artificial nuclear reactions.
The radioactive decay processes already discussed are examples of spontaneous nuclear
Figure 28.11 reactions. They occur naturally. No external influence is required.
Bombardment of a nucleus by
alpha particle bullets. Other nuclear reactions can be induced artificially by bombarding a nucleus with a pro-
jectile, such as a proton, an electron, an alpha particle or other heavy nuclei such as 14N, 16O,
1 etc. (Figure 28.11).
0n
fired at
4 9 12
Alpha bombardment
2 He 4 Be 6C
In 1919, after the proton had been discovered, Rutherford designed a series of experiments
to probe further into the production of the proton. He bombarded nitrogen gas with bullets
of alpha particles:
4
2 He + 14N
7 17O
8 + 11p
The equation shows that the transmutation of nitrogen into oxygen had occurred. When
fast, high energy alpha particles are used, neutrons are sometimes formed. For example, if
we bombard beryllium nuclei with alpha particles we produce carbon nuclei and fast moving
neutrons:
4
2 He + 49Be 12C
6 + 01n See Figure 28.11.
Deuteron bombardment: turning lead

into gold?
Although it is almost impossible to turn lead into gold, deuterons (12H) can be used to make
gold from mercury or platinum:
2 19 9Hg 19 7Au + 24He

1H + 80 79
2 19 6Pt 19 7Au + 01n
1H + 78 79
For both of these reactions, the deuterons must be given high enough speed by a suit-
able accelerator so that they can enter the nuclei of the target atoms. It costs a lot to use an
accelerator, so it is cheaper to go and mine the gold. Bad luck!
Neutron bombardment
The bombarding bullets can also be whole nuclei or single particles, such as neutrons, elec-
trons or protons.
One of the common ways of producing transmutation is by using neutrons. Because they
carry no charge, neutrons can enter the nuclei of the target atoms more easily than charged
particles can. The target is said to have captured the neutron. By the same token, free
neutrons are a serious health hazard because of their penetrating power. The good news is
that free neutrons have a short half-life about 11 minutes before they decay into a proton
and an electron.
Some examples of transmutations caused by neutron bombardment and capture:
10B
5 + 01n 37Li + 24He
23 8U
92 + 01n 23 9U
92
59
2 7 Co + 01n 60
2 7 Co
The Co-60 produced in the last reaction decays spontaneously by and emission. Cobalt-60
is used as the gamma source for school radioactive specimens. By completely encasing the
radioactive sample in plastic, the particles are absorbed whereas the rays can penetrate
through.
28.10 NUCLEAR FISSION AND FUSION

Artificial nuclear reactions can also be classified as either nuclear fusion or nuclear fission.
In nuclear fusion, the colliding particle unites with the parent and fuses (Latin fusus
= melted, unite) into a single nucleus with a higher mass. Sometimes other small particles
(n, p) are given off.
In nuclear fission, the lighter colliding particle makes the heavy parent more unstable and
it fragments or fissions (Latin fissus = cleaved, split) into smaller nuclei and other particles.
Nuclear fusion
The alpha bombardment of nitrogen carried out by Rutherford in 1919 can be classed as a
fusion reaction (Figure 28.12(a)):
4
2 He + 14N
7 17O
8 + 11p

Another example of fusion is that occurring in the upper atmosphere and forms the basis of
C-14 dating, as described earlier (Figure 28.12(b)):
14N
7 + 01n 14C
6 + 11H
Figure 28.12 (a) 1 (b)

1H 1
Nuclear fusion reactions. 1H
fired at fired at
4 14 1 14
2 He 7N 0n 7N
17
8O 14
6C
In 1932 J. D. Cockcroft artificially accelerated protons and bombarded a lithium target. The
following nuclear fusion reaction took place:
1
1H + 37Li 48Be
Nuclear fission
The German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman made an amazing discovery in 1938.
When U-235 was bombarded with neutrons, sometimes smaller nuclei were produced, which
were approximately half the size of the original, for example 136 84
56Ba and 36Kr. They were
baffled by this but Lisa Meitner and Otto Frisch (two Jewish physicists who escaped Nazi
Germany in 1938 and were working in Scandanavia) quickly realised what happened. The
U-235 nucleus absorbed the neutron to form a U-236 nucleus. Then, like a drop of water, it
split into two roughly equal pieces (see Figure 28.13). They called it nuclear fission because
it reminded them of biological fission (cell division).
A tremendous amount of energy is released because the mass of U-235 is considerably
greater than that of the fission fragments. In early 1940 when Germany was already at war,
Hitler banned the sale of uranium from the Czech mines he had overrun. American physicists
were alarmed that the Germans might be developing a bomb so the Allies began their own
research in the USA (the Manhattan Project), which culminated in the nuclear destruction of
the two Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending the Second World War.
To make this fission work, more neutrons must be released than are consumed so as to
produce a chain reaction. The released neutrons go on to react with other U nuclei and so
on. Figure 28.14 shows a four generation chain reaction.
Figure 28.13
Liquid drop model of nuclear fission. slow neutron
nucleus
bombardment wobbling spherical shape separation

of nucleus nucleus cannot be into two
maintained droplets
Figure 28.14
n A chain reaction.
U-235 n
n
n
n
n
Sr-90 U-235 n If you held a 10 kg lump of
n U-235
U-238 in your hand it would
lost feel slightly warm. But if you
neutron U-235 n found two separate 10 kg lumps
n n
of U-238 and brought them
U-235 n
n n n together youd be blown apart
Xe-143 and a crater 50 m deep would
first U-235 n form.
n n
generation
U-235
neutron second n
generation
neutron third
fourth
In each generation the number of fissioning nuclei increases even though some neutrons
do not go on to strike another U-235 atom. These are said to be lost. In a nuclear reaction,
a chain reaction is kept under control by absorbing excess neutrons with control rods of
substances such as cadmium.
Mass and energy in nuclear reactions

In 1905, long before the discovery of nuclear reactions, Albert Einstein (18791955), a
German scientist who moved to the USA in 1933, published his now-famous special theory
of relativity. This theory (discussed in Chapter 30) proposed that mass and energy are not
separate quantities; rather, they are different forms of one another. The equation relating the
two is:
E = mc 2
where:
m = change in mass or mass defect (kg) in a reaction
E = energy released or absorbed (J)
c = speed of light (3 108 m s1). N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
Example 1 Example 1 shows that, when
If 1.0 g of a substance is converted completely into energy, how much energy is produced? 1 g of a substance is converted
completely to energy, 9 1013 J
Solution is released. By comparison, the
chemical energy released when
E = mc 2
1 g of the explosive TNT is
E = 1.0 10 3 kg (3 10 8) 2 reacted is 4000 J, and when
= 9 10 13 J 1 g of petrol is burnt 30 000 J
is released.
Comment on the following:
Example 2
1 kg of uranium fuel releases
For the following U-235 fission reaction, calculate the energy released (a) per fission; (b) per
9 1016 J.
kilogram of U-235 reacted.
23 5U
92 + 01n 94
3 8 Sr + 13 9Xe
54 + 3 01n + energy

Solution (see Appendix 8 for masses.)

(a) Mass of reactants, mr U-235 235.043 94 u
The time it takes to hear a neutron 1.008 665 u
nuclear explosion was worked total mr 236.052 61 u
out by the Rand Corporation in Mass of products, mp Sr-94 93.9154 u

1968 (in the USA). The formula
Xe-139 138.9184 u
is: t = 5.8 1019 R10 W3 where
3 neutrons 3 1.008 665 u
t is the time in seconds to
hear the explosion, W = the
total mp 235.859 8 u
equivalent amount of TNT Mass defect, m = |mp mr| = 235.859 795 u 236.052 61 u = 0.192 81 u
explosive in megatonnes, and 1 u of mass = 1.66 1027 kg
R = the distance from the Mass defect = 0.192 81 1.66 1027 = 3.2 1028 kg
explosion in metres. Calculate
how much time would E = mc 2
elapse before you could hear a = 3.2 10 28 (3 10 8) 2
1000 megatonne bomb at = 2.88 10 11 J
500 m.
(b) Mass of one U-235 atom = 235 u 1.66 1027 kg/u = 3.90 1025 kg.
1 kg
Energy released by 1 kg = 2.88 1011 J = 7.38 1013 J.
3.90 1025 kg
Questions
17 Calculate the energy released in the following fission reaction in (a) J per fission;
(b) J per kg of U-235: 23925U + 01n 3980Sr + 13545Xe + 1101n + energy.
18 Which one of the following fusion reactions releases the most energy per fusion
event?
(a) 12H + 13H 24He + 01n.
(b) 12H + 12H 23He + 01n.
(c) 12H + 23He 24He + 11p.
In equation (c), be careful to use the mass of the proton (11p), not the mass of a
hydrogen atom (11H).
T H E N U C L E U S A S A S O U R C E O F P OW E R 28.11
One issue that has created more debate and social upheaval than any other is nuclear power.
People want cheap electricity but they dont want nuclear power stations; they want good
export income but they dont want to mine and sell uranium; and they want to be safe from
foreign invaders but they dont want the atomic bomb. Common fears are:
that a reactor might blow up like a uranium bomb
that a reactor will suffer meltdown, the melting of the fuel core because of the heat
generated by the fission process
that radioactive gases will escape into the atmosphere, as did occur at Chernobyl
that radioactive wastes have to be stored for millions of years
that terrorists will steal uranium to make a bomb.
These are all real fears. They could all happen but to be able to debate these issues properly,
you need to understand how the power of a nucleus can be tapped.
Chain reactions
A chain reaction is one in which the products of the reaction initiate further reactions. There
are two types:
controlled chain reactions nuclear fission reactors
uncontrolled chain reactions the nuclear bomb.
Either way, the underlying nuclear reaction is similar to the one you saw before:
23 5U
92 + 01n 90
3 8 Sr + 14 3Xe
54 + 3 01n + energy
90 Figure 28.15
1 38 Sr
0n
The nuclear fission of uranium-235.
1
0n
1
0n P H Y S I C S FA C T
1 In 1903 Rutherford knew that
0n 143
54 Xe energy was being slowly
released by nuclear decay, and
Not only are Sr-90 and Xe-143 produced (Figure 28.15), but many different pairs of nuclei are said that if you could speed it
produced, one usually bigger than the other. Examples of pairs are: 3962Kr and 14561Ba; 3855Br and up youd have a bomb. In 1914,
148 94 139 writer H. G. Wells wrote the
57La; 38Sr and 54Xe. There are hundreds of different combinations but you will notice that the
sum of atomic numbers (the lower numbers) add up to 92 for each pair. But when the mass book The World Set Free where
he described a world 42 years
of the products is less than the mass of the reactants you know that the missing mass has
into the future (1956) where a
been converted to energy. With the right technology this energy can be harnessed.
nuclear bomb destroyed cities.
He was most perceptive and way
28.12 N U C L E A R F I S S I O N R E A C TO R S ahead of anyone else with his
thinking.
The first attempt to harness nuclear energy was in 1942 following a complex program of
research involving the coordinated efforts of almost 100 000 scientists and technicians,
headed by Enrico Fermi. It was a fission reactor built from 60 tonnes of uranium and about
400 tonnes of graphite blocks in a squash court under the stands of the football stadium at
the University of Chicago.
There are basically two types of nuclear fission power reactors the thermal reactor
and the more modern but uncommon and far more complex fast-breeder reactor. Do we have
either in Australia? You bet! Read on.
Figure 28.16
Schematic diagram of a typical
pressurised water reactor in a thermal
nuclear power station.
generator
steam electricity
control grid
generator turbine
rods
heavy
water steam P H Y S I C S FA C T
cooling In 1950 Ford Motor Co. in the
500C water US proposed a nuclear-powered
car called the Nucleon. It was
never built. Imagine your day
secondary trip to the beach. Stop off at
heat the hospital on your way home
fuel exchanger
rods for a bone marrow transplant.
20C
return condensed
pump water
reactor heat
pump
vessel exchanger
concrete containment vessel
638 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context 638

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has had a reactor work-
ing at its base in Lucas Heights, Sydney, since 1960 and is being replaced. This reactor is
called HIFAR High Flux Atomic Reactor. The reactor is not used to generate electricity;
rather, it is used to produce radioisotopes for medicine and industry and for nuclear research.
There are no power reactors in Australia but there are hundreds in other countries throughout
the world. One of the best sources for further information about the nuclear industry is the
Uranium Information Centres website at the address http://www.uic.com.au where dozens of
briefing papers can be found.
Fuel
The fuel has to be a nuclide that undergoes nuclear fission, can sustain a chain reaction
and release energy. U-235 is such a fuel. Uranium is mined as a low-grade ore (about 0.3%
uranium) and after crushing, chemical treatment and concentration, it appears as uranium
oxide (U2O3) or yellow cake. This concentrate contains two isotopes, U-238 (99.3%) and
U-235 (0.7%). To have a self-sustaining chain reaction, this nuclear fuel usually is enriched
so that it has about 5% of the U-235 isotope. At Lucas Heights, they enrich theirs to a very
high 50% U-235.
The rods are spread to allow the fuel to be cooled and the neutrons to be slowed down
to thermal energies for maximum effect in the fission process. But some neutrons will leak
away and be lost from the reactor core so the amount of uranium must be sufficiently large
to compensate for the loss of neutrons. The minimum mass of uranium needed is called the
critical mass. It is in the order of a few kilograms.
Moderator
To have a self-sustaining chain reaction, on average at least one neutron produced in each
fission event must go on to produce another fission. The average number that go on to
produce further fissions is called the multiplication factor, f. If f <1, the reaction will die
out and is called subcritical. If, on the other hand, f >1, the reaction is called supercritical
and an uncontrolled run-away explosion will take place, that is, a nuclear bomb. The aim is
to have f = 1. Even though 2.4 neutrons are produced on average per fission event in a power
reactor, 1.4 of them will be lost, leaving the one neutron to continue the reaction.
The neutrons released in fission of 235U nucleus are very energetic; they have about 2 MeV
of energy and are therefore fast-moving. Fast-moving neutrons are unlikely to interact and
combine with a nucleus to initiate fission. Slower-moving neutrons are much more likely
to be captured by a nucleus. It is important to slow down the fast neutrons from about
20 000 km s1 to 2 km s1. These slow neutrons are called thermal neutrons. This reduction
in speed is achieved by placing a moderator around the reactor core. To be effective, the
moderator must have a mass very similar to the mass of a neutron, so that a neutron can lose
maximum energy, in a single collision. The moderator must not absorb neutrons. Carbon
(graphite), water, heavy water (D2O), or liquid sodium are a few suitable moderators. In the
Chernobyl accident, the graphite moderator actually caught fire.
Control rods
A reaction is started by placing a neutron source inside the core alongside the fuel rods. After
the reaction starts, control is achieved by use of control rods containing neutron-absorbing
material such as cadmium or boron steel. These substances have large nuclei so they can
easily absorb the neutrons. For example, at Lucas Heights in Sydney, cadmium rods enclosed
in a stainless steel coat are used. If the core is not reactive enough, the control rods are
raised, which increases the neutron flux, thus accelerating the reaction. If the core becomes
too reactive, the control rods are lowered. In 1942, Enrico Fermi had an assistant standing
beside the rope that supported the control rods. He was armed with an axe and had orders to
chop the rope if the reactor started to run away. The axe was never used, but is now in a
museum.
639 N u cl e a r P h y s i c s 639
Coolant P H Y S I C S FA C T
The coolant is a liquid that circulates through the reactor core to remove excess heat energy Before the two bombs were
and stop it from overheating. Water is a good coolant but heavy water (deuterium oxide, D2O) dropped on Japan at the end of
the Second World War, Trinity
is normally used so that it can also act as a moderator.
tests were undertaken.
As the coolant comes in contact with the fuel rods it too becomes radioactive so it can-
A plutonium bomb was exploded
not be allowed to escape to the atmosphere or down the drain. Instead the hot radioactive in the New Mexico desert (USA)
coolant is passed through a heat exchanger, where the heat is transferred to a secondary loop. on 16 July 1945. A crater 350 m
Here, water is converted to steam to drive turbines and produce electricity. diameter was formed and
Other forms of reactor use gas (for example, helium) as a coolant. In some cases where windows 300 km away were
a coolant that does not slow down neutrons is required, molten sodium is used to cool the shattered. Three weeks later
reactor core. similar bombs were ready for
In the worst case scenario of a meltdown accident, the core would get so hot it would deployment in Japan. Little
melt its way through the floor of the building and into the ground. It was often said that it Boy was dropped on Hiroshima
would melt its way through to China, hence the title of the movie The China Syndrome. But on 6 August 1945. It was 3 m
long, 75 cm diameter, weighed
as soon as the core hit the underground water table it would erupt like a volcano.
4.1 tonnes and had an explosive
power equivalent to 12 700
Reactor shielding tonnes of TNT. It was released
at an altitude of 9500 m and at
When in operation, reactor cores emit high levels of radiation harmful to humans. Conse- 2100 m the explosive charge
quently, the core must be isolated from other areas of the reactor to ensure human safety. detonated, making the uranium
This is achieved by use of a shield made from high density materials such as concrete and go critical. By 580 m,
steel. To prevent any release into the atmosphere the buildings are usually airtight. However, 43 seconds had elapsed and the
the building at Chernobyl and at others of this design throughout the old Russian republic did whole thing exploded in a few
not have a containment building. Thats why the gases escaped so easily. millionths of a second. Fat Man
was dropped on Nagasaki on
9 August 1945. It was 3.5 m
Reactor output long, 1.5 m diameter and
weighed 4.5 tonnes. It was
The power output of a reactor is measured in megawatts (MW), that is, 1 million joules
equivalent to 22 350 tonnes
per second (1 MJ s1). However, fission reactors have an efficiency of about 32% so they of TNT. Japan surrendered the
must generate 3000 MW of thermal energy to produce 1000 MW of electrical energy. Research next day.
reactors like the type at Lucas Heights only produce about 10 MW.
Fast breeder reactors: FBRs

Fast reactors depend on the fission of 239Pu by fast neutrons. The fuel used is a 10% Pu-239
and 90% U-238 mixture usually extracted as a by-product from a normal thermal fission
reactor. Because fast neutrons are used, no moderator is required and the core can be much
more compact and operate at a higher temperature, so usually liquid sodium is used as a
coolant. Fast neutrons strike U-238, causing a series of beta decays, which result in the
production of Pu-239. Thus this reactor produces more of the fissionable Pu-239 material than
it started with, hence the name breeder. The problem with FBRs is that the Pu-239 is
extremely toxic and has a very long half-life. Secondly, liquid sodium reacts violently with
water or air so the engineers must be very careful with the design specifications and control
systems.
Uncontrolled fission: the atomic bomb

Fission weapons are relatively uncomplicated. Scientists working on the uranium bomb that
was dropped on Hiroshima didnt even test it beforehand. The fission or atomic bomb consists
of a cannon-like tube with a chemical explosive at one end and two subcritical masses of
U-235. To allow safe transportation, the two pieces of fuel must be below critical mass and
when detonation is to take place, the two subcritical pieces of almost pure U-235 are fired
together. In the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, a ball of subcritical Pu-239 lumps formed the

core. Around the outside of this ball was a layer of chemical explosive, which compressed
the plutonium and made it go critical (Figure 28.17).
A nuclear power plant cant explode like a nuclear bomb because the concentration of
U-235 is too low. In a reactor, the concentration is only about 3% whereas in a bomb it is
enriched to about 90%.
Figure 28.17 before firing implosion explosion
An atomic explosion.
BANG!
chemical beryllium compressed

explosive shell Pu-239
becomes
subcritical critical
masses of
Pu-239
A c t i v i t y 2 8 . 4 C R I T I C A L E VA L UAT I O N
1 Enrico Fermi found out in 1939 that uranium could be split into two fragments
to release huge amounts of energy. He said it was lucky that nuclear fission
had not been discovered five years earlier. What did he mean by this and what
possible consequences could have arisen?
2 Students often say that moral questions about the use of physics for weapons
should not be discussed in class. Develop some points for and against this
comment.
N U C L E A R WA S T E P R O D U C T S 28.13
The biggest problem for supporters of nuclear power generation is what to do with the wastes
and how to convince the public that the wastes can be disposed of safely.
Types of waste
Radioactive waste may be gas, liquid or solid. It is usual to classify it into one of three
levels, depending on how radioactive it is:
Low-level waste This waste consists primarily of protective clothing, used wrappers, worn
out or damaged plant, and water from showers where protective clothing is washed. It is
usually just above the limit that regulations define as radioactive.
Medium-level waste This waste consists of irradiated fuel containers, reactor components
and old sealed sources returned from hospitals and industry.
High-level waste This waste comes from fuel reprocessing and contains most of the fission
products from the spent fuel and remains quite hot. It contains small amounts of U-235,
U-238, Pu-239 and Sr-90.
Disposal
Disposal involves the confinement, isolation and sometimes cooling of the wastes so that
they are harmless to the environment. Unlike coal- or oil-fired power plants, which spread
their gaseous waste and residues over large areas, nuclear waste is small in volume. The unfor-
tunate part is that the waste is so dangerous.
Unlike many other wastes, nuclear waste will decay in time to become harmless, depend-
ing on its half-life. Sr-90 has a half-life of 28 years; Pu-239, 24 400 years. After about 1000
years, however, the wastes have decayed to about the same activity as the original ore body
about 100 gigabecquerel (1011 Bq). Some people say Why not put it in a rocket and send
it to the Sun? The amount of energy and money required makes this commercially
non-viable.
Storage N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
A letter-writer to the Courier
There are several thousand cubic metres of waste being stored at about 50 different sites
Mail suggested that we could
throughout Australia. Half is low-level waste. Throughout the world, research continues into deflect an approaching asteroid
safe disposal sites, such as a long way underground, under the sea bed or fusing it with clay with a nuclear bomb. Propose
to make ceramic beads (e.g. Synroc). At present, ANSTO has accumulated 1600 highly radio- several reasons why this would
active, highly enriched spent fuel rods at Lucas Heights and is storing them underground in not be appropriate.
concrete wells until they can convince the United States to take them back for reprocessing.
Because only 5% of the original uranium-235 is used up, reprocessing will recover the remain-
ing 95% for reuse. ANSTO has only been able to get rid of some spent fuel rods to Scotland P H Y S I C S FA C T
in 1963 and 450 to South Carolina in 1987. Greenpeace accuses ANSTO of not having a decent
An old engineering proverb
disposal option for this waste, which is growing at the rate of 36 rods per year and even
goes: Faster, better, cheaper.
more when (if?) the new reactor gets built. The idea of burying it is a problem, says Choose two of the above.
Greenpeace, as one cost estimate of a permanent repository is US$17 billion. Is this only funny to engineers?
Activity 28.5 NOTHING IS FOOLPROOF FROM FOOLS

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) argues that nuclear materials, properly
handled, are very safe. They suggest that only 17 nuclear accidents have occurred
worldwide since 1945 with a total of only 59 deaths (by comparison with about 60 road
deaths per week Australia-wide).
Nuclear accidents can be classified as follows:
Radiation accidents (not involving a nuclear reactor) The most publicised have been
in Morocco (1984), where eight people died after one person took some radiography
isotope home for his mantlepiece; and in Goiania, South America (1986), where people N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
took glowing Cs-137 home in their pockets from a radiotherapy unit 4 dead,
Poet W. H. Auden wrote in his
249 contaminated.
poem Marginalia:
Nuclear power reactor accidents Examples are at Three Mile Island, USA (1979) partial No tyrant ever fears
melting of the core; and at Chernobyl (1986) 100 000 people evacuated after the His geologists or his engineers.
graphite moderator caught fire. What do you suspect he meant by
this? What evidence would he
Either need to substantiate this claim?
1 Write a two-page report about a nuclear accident (including one of the above, if
you like).
(a) Describe what went wrong from a nuclear physics viewpoint.
(b) Describe the long-term environmental effects.
(c) Discuss whether the benefits of nuclear technology outweigh the
environmental effects.
or
2 Design a public survey to discover what people in your local community know
about the issues involved in nuclear energy. Conduct a small survey and analyse
the results. Submit a full report: introduction, methodology, results, analysis,
conclusion.

NUCLEAR FUSION 28.14

Nuclear fusion is the process in which two small nuclei join together to produce a
larger nucleus and a release of energy.
The dream of producing a sustainable and controlled nuclear fusion on Earth is one that
scientists have had for fifty years. Nuclear fusion powers the Sun and it powers the hydrogen
bomb but trying to get it working in a controlled fashion here on Earth is a difficult task.
For two small nuclei to fuse, we have to overcome their massive electrostatic repulsions. It
normally takes more energy to do this than could ever be released, so very careful selection
of nuclei is needed.
The first release of energy from a fusion reaction was in 1932, when Cockcroft and Watson
demonstrated the following reaction:
2
1H + 31H 24He + 01n + 17.6 MeV
The energy comes from the high binding energy per nucleon of the very stable helium
nucleus compared with the smaller binding energy per nucleon of deuterium 12H and tritium
3
1H. Other fusion reactions that form helium nuclei include:
1H + 1H 2He + 0n + 3.3 MeV

2 2 3 1
12H + 23He 24He + 11p + 18.3 MeV

Since some mass has had to be converted to energy, this will be accompanied by an
equivalent mass decrease. The energy is normally given off in the form of gamma rays.
High temperature fusion

The British physicist Sir Arthur Eddington (18821944) first suggested in 1920 that the Sun
might produce all of its energy by nuclear fusion. In 1930 Dr Hans Bethe, an American
scientist, gave a clear indication of how this process could work.
At the core of the Sun the temperature is about 100 million C. The temperature and
pressure are high enough to enable hydrogen atoms to fuse together to form helium atoms.
As the gamma rays that are produced move outward through the Sun they heat the surround-
ing gas. At the Suns surface the temperature is about 6000C. Although the reaction occurs
in a number of steps, the process can be represented as:
4 11H 24He + 2 +10e + + neutrino ()
The energy produced is 26.72 MeV when the four hydrogen atoms react. About 26.2 MeV is
carried off by the gamma rays and about 0.5 MeV by the neutrinos. Every second, 4 million
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E tonnes of hydrogen is converted to helium in the Sun, providing the energy that makes life
on Earth possible.
Two new heavy nuclides have
been prepared recently. Work
out what they are from these
incomplete equations:
Fusion reactors
249 Cf + 12C 41 n + ?; and
98 6 0
High temperatures and pressures like those found inside the Sun are needed to sustain nuclear
242Pu + 22Ne 41 n + ?
94 10 0 fusion. There are two major problems associated with this:
How do we reach this high temperature and maintain it?
How do we contain the fuel, since most containers would melt well before 100
million degrees C is reached?
For the construction of fusion power reactors the reactions mentioned earlier involving
deuterium and tritium seem to be promising. There is a vast supply of deuterium available in
ordinary water, particularly in sea water. Therefore, there is no scarcity of fuel for fusion
reactors.
In order for the particles to come close enough to fuse together, the deuterium or tritium
atoms must have very high kinetic energy (high speed), sufficient to overcome the Coulomb
repulsion. Such high speed can be achieved by heating the gas to a temperature of
100 million C. At such high temperatures, gas contains electrons and positive ions and is
called plasma (Figure 28.18).
gas plasma Figure 28.18

In gas, the electrons orbit the nuclei.
In plasma, the electrons are separated
from the nuclei.
nucleus
electron
Figure 28.19
The H-bomb is ignited by a fission bomb.
Uncontrolled fusion switch
(trigger)
The energy of fusion has been harnessed for destructive purposes in the form of the hydro- 235U and 239 Pu
gen bomb (Figure 28.19). This type of bomb is technically more advanced than the fission (fission bomb)
bomb and potentially more devastating. detonator chemical
To obtain the high temperatures and pressures required for fusion, the H-bomb begins explosive
with a fission explosion. The fission neutrons combine with Li-6 to form tritium, and when
the temperature is hot enough, the tritium atoms fuse with the deuterium atoms in an uncon-
trolled fusion reaction. The H-bomb has never been detonated in anger. The first successful
detonation was in 1952 in the United States when it was said that the explosion was brighter
than a thousand suns. (See Photo 28.2.)
fuse
Activity 28.6 NUCLEAR UNCLEAR fusion
wire
bomb
1 Prepare a table showing the similarities and differences of a thermal fission
reactor, a research reactor (e.g. ANSTOs HIFAR), an FBR, a fusion reactor and a
coal-fired power station. Some headings you could use are: fuel, moderator,
6
control rods, power output, wastes, but there are others. 3 Li
and
2
2 Use an encyclopedia to find the meaning of: yellowcake, Synroc, Candu reactor, 1H
trefoil symbol, tokamak.
Photo 28.2
The first fusion bomb (known as Mike)
Questions was exploded on 31 October 1952.

During Operation Ivy, Mike yielded
10.4 megatonnes (TNT equivalent) and
19 Greenpeace has said that having ships take spent fuel rods back to the United was reported to be brighter than a
States through the waters of the South Pacific would be like floating Chernobyls. thousand suns.
What do they mean?
20 Australia mines uranium for sale overseas but wont allow nuclear power reactors
to be built here. It seems hypocritical but is it? The government says that
by being a part of the nuclear community we have control over what happens to
the uranium. Prepare a short statement with your argument for or against
this policy.

B I O L O G I C A L E F F E C T S O F R A D I AT I O N 28.15
Nuclear radiation is everywhere. It has been a part of the natural environment since the Earth
was formed some 4 billion years ago. We cannot feel it but in high doses its effects can be
devastating. When ionising radiation (, , , X-rays and neutrons) passes through tissue, it
can interfere with the DNA, causing it to split up. When the DNA replicates (makes copies
of itself) it can get confused and produce defective cells. All people who deal with ionising
radiation should be aware of the consequences.
However, not all radiation effects are the same. Different types of radiation have different
ionising and penetrating powers. Hence, the effects on human tissue will also be different. You
could ask: would you rather be hit by a truck moving at 10 km/h, a motorbike going at
100 km/h or a bullet going at 1000 km/h? All three do damage but in different ways. Alpha
radiation is made up of heavy, relatively slow moving particles but is more intensely ionising
over a very short distance than beta, gamma or X-rays. Even though it cannot penetrate the
outer layers of the skin, it can be inhaled as a dust or get into open cuts in the skin. Then it
is very dangerous as it can move around in the blood and migrate to the brain and lungs a
deadly result.
Beta particles have a lower risk as they can be stopped by a few millimetres of tissue and
are not very strongly ionising. Nevertheless they can cause skin burns. Because gamma and
X-rays are highly penetrating, they can pass deep into the body and cause great damage. For
example, when you have an X-ray, the radiation passes right through you to the photographic
film behind. Gamma is like the bullet.
In summary, radiation may result in:
the death of the cell
prevention of cell division
permanent modification to the cell.
Questions
21 Find out how cobalt-60 actually kills cells. Why doesnt irradiation of the patient
make the patient radioactive?
22 Prepare a case for or against the use of radioactive sources in school physics
laboratories.
M E A S U R I N G R A D I AT I O N D O S I M E T RY 28.16
Because there are so many different factors affecting the radiation dose, there are several
different ways of measuring it.
Absorbed dose (D)

When ionising radiation interacts with matter, some of its energy is transferred to the absorb-
ing material, such as the tissues of the body. Radiation that deposits one joule of energy per
kilogram of tissue is called the absorbed dose. It has the units J kg1 or 1 gray (Gy).
For example, if a 50 kg person absorbed 100 J of radiation energy, this absorbed
dose would be 100 J/50 kg = 2 J kg1 or 2 Gy. This could make you very sick but would
probably not be fatal. If a 20 kg child absorbed the same energy, the dose would be
100 J/20 kg = 5 Gy, which would probably be fatal.
Dose equivalent (H)

The amount of damage 1 Gy of absorbed dose can do depends on the nature of the radiation.
For example, alpha particles are 20 times more damaging to tissue than X-rays, gamma
rays or beta particles. To quantify the potential damage of radiation, physicists use weight-
ing to reflect the biological impact. These weightings are called quality factors (QF) and are
shown in Table 28.9.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 9
RADIATION QUALITY FACTOR (QF)
heavy nuclei 20
fusion fragments 20
alpha 20
neutrons <10 keV (slow) 5
10 keV 100 keV 10
100 keV 2 MeV (fast) 20
2 MeV 20 MeV 10
>20 MeV 5
protons 5
beta 1
gamma photons 1
X-ray photons 1
A measure of the radiaion dose that combines the amount of radiation (in J/kg) with the
quality factor (QF) is called the dose equivalent and is measured in a unit called sievert (Sv).
Dose equivalent = absorbed dose quality factor

or H = D QF
For example, if an absorbed dose of 2 Gy was from an alpha source, the dose equivalent would
be 2 Gy times a QF of 20 = 40 Sv. This is a big dose and would probably be fatal (>6.5 Sv
is lethal). It is common to use millisievert (mSv) or microsievert (Sv). In Australia, the
average annual background radiation dose is about 2 mSv.
28.17 R A D I AT I O N R I S K S TO Y O U R H E A LT H
Radiation is all around us. It comes from the ground, from space (cosmic radiation) and can
be from artificial sources such as medical X-rays and nuclear bomb testing such as the French
did in the Pacific Ocean. Non!
The effective whole body dose limits established by the International Commission for
Radiological Protection for artificial sources are: No new nuclear reactors have
radiation workers: 20 mSv (100 mSv averaged over 5 years and maximum of 50 mSv in been built in the USA since
any one year) 1972 and the number operating
members of the public: 1 mSv annual average over lifetime; maximum of 5 mSv in any has dropped from 146 to 143
one year; pregnant woman (abdomen) 13 mSv/3 months; foetus 1 mSv/9 months. over recent years.
The effects of ionising radiation on the body are summarised in Table 28.10. How does this compare with the
UK, France and Indonesia?
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 0 E F F E C T S O F I O N I S I N G R A D I AT I O N O N T H E B O DY
EXPOSURE (Sv) EFFECT
High (36 Sv) severe sickness with up to 100% deaths for 4.5 Sv and over
Medium slight to moderate sickness; recovery complete within 3 months;
(13 Sv) delayed effects may shorten life by a few percent
Low (01 Sv) No sickness; person unaware of any biological changes

A c t i v i t y 2 8 . 7 W H AT S Y O U R P O I S O N ?
You can work out your total annual radiation dose by summing the various sources.
What does your annual dose come to? Is this dangerous? See Table 28.11.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 1
The international symbol for
nuclear disarmament made up SOURCE AVERAGE ANNUAL LOCAL VARIATIONS
of the semaphore (flag) signals DOSE (Sv)
for N and D is shown in the Cosmic radiation 300 +200 Sv per 100 m of altitude
following figure. + 20 Sv per 10 of latitude
What part of the symbol is N + 20 Sv per hour of flying time
and which part is D? +1000 Sv per day in a space station
Rocks 600 150 Sv if you live in a wooden house
Food and drink 300 Nil
Air (breathing) 700 Nil
Manufactured source 100 + 30 Sv for nuclear testing
+ 20 Sv if you watch TV and use the
computer for about 15 hrs/week
Medical 0 See medical treatment, Table 28.12
Your total 2000
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 2 M E D I C A L T R E AT M E N T
PROCEDURE DOSE (Sv)
X-rays: Chest 30
Radon gas (from bricks and
Leg 20
other earthy materials) causes
Dental 140
between 7000 and 30 000 of the
130 000 lung cancer deaths in Head 70
the USA per year (Environmental Intestine 3 000
Protection Agency estimate, Mammography 400
2001). CAT scan: Head 1 800
Abdomen 7 200
Radiopharmaceutical drugs:
Bone scan 5 000
Thyroid scan 2 000
Lung scan 800
Brain scan 1 200
A person receives a dose of Heart scan 17 000
0.3 mGy of slow neutrons, Tumour therapy 22 000
6 mGy of gamma rays and Thyroid therapy 8 000 000
0.1 mGy of fast neutrons. Your total dose due to
How many millisieverts is this?
medical treatment:
1 Calculate the annual dose for an airline pilot who lives in a wooden house in
Brisbane (latitude 28) at an altitude of 100 m and makes 200 return flights to
Sydney in a year. He had a chest X-ray after swallowing a fish hook and a mouth
X-ray for an impacted wisdom tooth.
2 Why is altitude a factor in determining dose? Is this related to airline flights
being listed as a hazard?
For further information see Chapter 33, Medical Physics.
28.18 A P P L I C AT I O N S O F N U C L E A R T E C H N O L O G Y
Uses of nuclear technology include more than just nuclear power and radioactive dating. Here
are some other uses:
Food and medical equipment irradiation Within a year of Roentgens discovery of X-rays in
1895, physicists were proposing that food be irradiated to kill off microbes. By 1921 patents
had been given for irradiation of meat to destroy parasites. Later, in 1931, it was being used
to kill off bacteria and preserve food indefinitely.
Gamma radiation and high energy X-rays can be used to prolong the shelf-life of foods by
slowing the ripening process and stopping the sprouting of vegetables like potatoes and
onions. Although the food does not become radioactive, irradiation can cause physical and P H Y S I C S FA C T
chemical changes in the food. When molecules are split by nuclear radiation, the fragments
ANSTO scientists measured the
are called radiolytic products (Greek lysis = to split). Although 50 years of research has
U/Pb ratio in Gold Coast beach
shown irradiation to be useful and generally safe, there is concern that these radiolytic sub-
sand. They found it was
stances could be carcinogenic (cancer-forming). Precambrian sand from the
To date, in Australia and New Zealand, only herbs and spices and some tropical fruits have Antarctic 600 million years old.
been approved to be irradiated (for sanitary reasons) and to a maximum dose of 1 kGy. The
tropical fruits include breadfruit, carambola (star fruit), custard apple, lychee, longan (dragons
eye lychee), mango, mangosteen, papaya and rambutan. Food that has been irradiated must I N V E S T I G AT I N G
be labelled with a statement that says it has been treated with ionising radiation.
Medical equipment has been sterilised with gamma rays for years. If you look on a syringe In the nuclear power plant
packet it will probably say that it has been gamma irradiated and sealed with the gas accident at Tokaimura, one
worker Mr Hisashi Ouchi
ethylene oxide inside.
received 18 Sv of radiation
Questions and spent 3 months in hospital.

Normally, anything greater than
23 (a) List the arguments for and against food irradiation. 5 Sv is fatal.
(b) Do you think Australians should be allowed to eat irradiated foods? So how come he survived?
Give reasons.
(c) How can we easily check that irradiated foods do not have any residual
radioactivity?
(d) List the arguments for and against the irradiation of medical products.
(e) Do you think medical supplies should be irradiated by the manufacturers
before they are placed on the market? Wont they become radioactive?
(f) How is this different from the food irradiation argument?
Industrial radiography Gamma rays can be used to examine the interior of solid objects such
as the welds in natural gas pipelines (Figure 28.20).
source of rays Figure 28.20
Detection of flaws inside
metal parts.
metal casting of
propeller blade
with defect
photographic plate
or detector
Neutron radiography Slow neutrons are fired at an object and, depending on the presence of
elements like hydrogen, cadmium and boron, a clear image of the internal structure can be
obtained in much the same way that X-ray images are taken. These atoms are strong absorbers
of slow neutrons and are remarkable in the detail they can show. Common uses are to detect
flaws in gas turbine blades, corrosion of aircraft components and the presence of explosives
in luggage.

Gauging Radiation has its intensity reduced by matter placed between the source and a
detector. By measuring the radiation through a plastic film, its thickness can be monitored
as it comes out of the rollers and adjusted to maintain a thickness of incredible uniformity
(Figure 28.21). In Australia, the thickness of paper, felt, steel and glass are areas where
radioactive gauging is also used.
Figure 28.21 metal of required thickness
Use of radiation to monitor the
thickness of sheet metal.
thick, hot sheet metal
British nuclear physicist James detector
Chadwick was a slum boy
rollers
from Manchester. He did his signal to change
postdoctoral research under roller pressure
Rutherford and later went to
Berlin. When the Second World black box control
War broke out, he was taken
prisoner by the Germans. While
Neutron activation analysis (NAA) This is used in forensic science to match soil and hair from
in the prisoner of war camp, he
ordered special toothpaste from
crime scenes to suspects. Australia has become a world leader in this field.
the Berlin Auer Company which Neutron transmutation doped silicon (NTDS) This is a process used to produce the doped
had radioactive thorium in it to silicon for silicon chips in the computer industry. Bombardment of silicon with neutrons
make teeth glow. He extracted produces phosphorus:
the thorium and used it
to continue his nuclear 28
1 4 Si + 3 01n 31
15 P + 0
1 e
experiments while in the POW
camp. In 1932 Chadwick
discovered the neutron. Thats By controlling the intensity of the radiation, a transmutation of 1 in every 108 atoms can be
what you call persistence. achieved just the right amount for N-type semiconductors. This is a big income earner for
ANSTO and for Australia.
Medical applications These are among the most important uses of radiation and radioactivity.
They are discussed in Chapter 33.
A c t i v i t y 2 8 . 8 S M O K E D E T E C TO R S
Smoke alarms in homes operate on the principle of ionisation. A radioactive source of
americium-241, with a half-life of over 7000 years, emits alpha particles that ionise air
particles in a chamber. When smoke enters the chamber, the ionisation changes and an
alarm sounds.
Figure 28.22 Am-241
A smoke detector.
+ + slotted metal
case

smoke
smoke
+ to alarm if
current is reduced
1 Examine a smoke detector and, by unscrewing the cover, look at the

components. Can you identify the ionisation chamber? Dont open it! Blow some
smoke from a candle into it did the alarm sound? How long did it take?
2 Hold a Geiger counter near it. Can you detect radiation? If not, why?
3 Is there any warning about the Am-241? Is it clear to a non-physics student that
it is dangerous? Are there sufficient instructions about how to dispose of it once
it stops working?
4 If you replaced the battery regularly, would the detector be good for
thousands of years? Explain.
Practice questions
*24 What element is represented by X in each of the following: (a) 23923X; (b) 12X;
(c) 22886X; (d) 1352X?
*25 What elements are formed by the radioactive decay as shown in each of the
following?
(a) 1214Na(). (b) 1212Na(+). (c) 21840Po(). (d) 1352P().
*26 Complete the following nuclear reactions:
91Pa 92U + ?
234 234
(a)
?Rn 84Po + .
? 218
(b)
*27 A certain nuclide, represented by abX, ejects an -particle followed by an emission
of a -particle. Use Y and Z as daughter symbols and write two nuclear equations
to represent the process.
*28 Complete the following nuclear equations:
(a) 115B + 24He 147N + ?
(b) 1213Na + 01n ?
(c) 1237Al + 12H 24He + ?
(d) ? + 24He 2402Ca + 11H
(e) ? + 01n 2172Mg + 11H
(f) ? + 24He 126C + 01n
*29 The fission fragment Sr-96 undergoes four successive emissions before a stable
nucleus is formed. What is the stable nucleus formed?
*30 For the isotope carbon-14:
(a) write the equation for its beta-minus decay;
(b) determine the mass loss per atom of carbon-14 in kg;
(c) determine the energy change for this process.
**31 Indium-116 decays by beta-minus decay to tin-116. The atomic masses are
115.905 53 u for indium-116 and 115.901 79 u for tin-116. (a) Write the
equation for the beta-minus decay of indium-116. (b) Determine the mass loss
in kg per atom of indium-116. (c) Determine the energy change for this process.
**32 Can C-14 dating be used to measure the age of stone walls and tablets of ancient
civilisations?
**33 Carbon-14 was used to date a medieval linen sample. Calculate how old it was if
it had a C-14 : C-12 ratio that was only 1.56% of the expected living tissue ratio.
**34 Some rocks in your neighbourhood show that their percentage of uranium-236 is
67% of what you expected. If t 12 for U-236 is 2.39 107 years, calculate the age
of the rocks.
**35 The half-life of a cobalt-60 source used for food irradiation is 5.26 years.
(a) If the original activity of a working sample is 500 GBq, what is the activity
after 2.63 years?
(b) If it is not safe to dispose of it until its activity is less than one-thousandth
of its original activity, calculate how many half-lives this is.

**36 Iridium-192 is used in the treatment of early cancer of the breast. It has a
half-life of 74 days. If initially there is 3.6 mg of the isotope present, what time
will elapse before it has been reduced to (a) 0.90 mg; (b) 0.25 mg?
**37 Iodine-131, used for destroying malignant tumours of the thyroid, has a half-life
of 8.07 days. (a) What is its disintegration constant? (b) If the activity of I-131
is 5 1010 Bq, how many iodine atoms are present? (c) How many days will
elapse before its activity is 1 MBq?
**38 Immediately after a 23928U nucleus decays to 23904Th + 24He, the daughter thorium
nucleus still has 92 electrons circling it. Since thorium normally holds only
90 electrons, what do you suppose happens to the two extra ones?
**39 Design an experiment to measure how much liquid is in a can without opening it.
Hint: alpha radiation would not be suitable for this experiment. Why not?
**40 The activity of a sample of a beta-emitting phosphorus nuclide was measured
and the count was corrected for background radiation. The results were as shown
in Table 28.13.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 3 A R A D I OA C T I V I T Y C O U N T
TIME ELAPSED (h) ACTIVITY (min 1 )
0.0 36 506
0.5 31 501
0.75 29 268
1.0 27 106
2.0 20 244
5.0 8 256
10.0 1 913
13.0 800
18.0 181
Plot ln A vs t for these data and determine the half-life of the phosphorus.
**41 One of the long-term effects from a nuclear explosion is the radioactive fallout.
If all 3.0 106 radioactive fission nuclei were spread evenly among the human
population (5 billion), how many radioactive nuclei would each human breathe
in? Why is this not a realistic calculation?
**42 The following is a problem regularly faced by scientists and engineers in the
nuclear industry. You have to dispose of some low-level nuclear waste and you
must choose from three types of storage containers (Table 28.14).
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 4 N U C L E A R WA S T E M A N A G E M E N T
CONTAINER COST OF ONE VOLUME OF ONE LIFE OF ONE
BOX ($) BOX (m 3 ) BOX (y)
Steel and lead box 500 2 10
Steel and plastic box 1000 2 100
Carbon fibre box 2400 2 1000
You have to dispose of 30 m3 of waste by burying it in boxes until its activity

reaches the low level of 600 Bq/kg of waste. Initially the hot waste has an
activity of 10 500 Bq/kg and has a half-life of 12 years.
(a) How many years have to pass before the activity falls to 600 Bq/kg?
(b) How many containers do you need?
(c) Which container would you choose? Why?
(d) What is the total cost of your containers?
(e) Would the operation have any other costs?
(f) If the containers leaked, who would you blame?

**43 For the reaction: 411H 24He + 2+10e:
(a) calculate the energy released when four 11H nuclei fuse;
(b) calculate the energy released when 1 kg of 11H fuses.
**44 (a) Which one of the following produces the most energy per kilogram of reactant?
(i) 23949Pu + 01n 13527Te + 10420Mo + 301n (See Appendix 7 for masses.)
(ii) 212H 24He
(b) State whether the above reactions are fusion or fission.
***45 In the carbon cycle that occurs on the Sun, He-4 is built from four protons and
C-12. First, C-12 absorbs a proton to form a nucleus, X1. Then X1 decays by
positron emission to X2, which then absorbs a proton to become X3, which itself
absorbs a proton to become X4. X4 then decays to X5 by positron decay and X5
reacts via: X5(p,)X6.
(a) Determine the formulas of X1 to X6 by writing out complete balanced nuclear
equations.
(b) Sum the six reactions and write a balanced net reaction.
***46 The Sun radiates 3.9 1023 J of energy into space every second.
(a) Calculate how much mass is lost per second on the Sun.
(b) If the Sun has a mass of 2 1030 kg, calculate how many years will elapse
before the Sun has lost 50% of its mass.
***47 Nuclear fission of U-235 releases about 3.5 1011 J per fission event. Calculate
this as J per kg of U-235 reacted and calculate how many times greater it is than
the combustion of methane, which releases 50 MJ per kg.
***48 The Earth receives 1.8 1014 kJ per second of solar energy. (a) What mass of
solar material is converted to energy over a 24 hour period to provide the daily
amount of solar energy to the Earth? (b) If coal releases 32 kJ of energy per
gram, what mass of coal would have to be burnt to provide this same amount of
energy?
***49 An unstable isotope disintegrates by beta decay to form a stable product. In an
experiment to determine its half-life, the following data were collected at the
same time each school day (Table 28.15). Note: better results are obtained by
measuring the time taken for a certain count. In this case 2000 counts were made.
Background radiation = 13 counts per minute.
Ta b l e 2 8 . 1 5 D E C AY DATA F O R Q U E S T I O N 4 9
DAY TIME FOR 2000 COUNTS
Mon 1 min 16 s
Tue 1 min 39 s
Wed 2 min 10 s
Thurs 2 min 51 s
Fri 3 min 40 s
Mon 8 min 28 s
Tue 10 min 15 s
Wed 13 min 48 s
Thurs 17 min 33 s
Fri 22 min 59 s
(a) Calculate the observed activity and then the actual activities by subtracting
background activity.
(b) Calculate the half-life by a graphical method. Hint: watch the time elapsed;
there are some days when no data were taken (whod go to school at the
weekend?).

***50 Radioactive gold-198, which has a half-life of 2.7 days, is routinely used by
ANSTO for detecting movement of substances through the environment. It was
once suspected that the high concentration of aluminium in the brains of
Alzheimers patients was from using aluminium saucepans for cooking. Devise a
procedure using Au-198 to measure the movement of saucepan metal into the
brains of Alzheimers patients.
***51 A 70 kg patient receives a 10 second dose of gamma radiation from a
3.7 1013 Bq cobalt-60 source. The gamma rays have an energy of 1.25 MeV
(1 MeV = 1.6 1013 J). Only 2% of the radiation reaches the patient and only
50% of that is absorbed; the rest just passes through. Show that the effective
dose is 0.011 Gy.
***52 In a fast breeder reactor, U-238 is bombarded with a nuclear particle and turns
into U-239, which promptly decays into Pu-239 by several steps. Deduce the full
set of reactions for the FBR.
CHAPTER 29
Quantum Physics and Fundamental
Particles
29.1 INTRODUCTION
Until the end of the nineteenth century, classical physics, based on the laws of Newton, had
sufficed to explain all our natural surroundings of matter, space and time. It was at the turn
of the century that the experimental observations by physicists and subsequent theoretical
explorations began to question the validity of the Newtonian laws, especially at very small
distances, very high speeds and within the world of the emerging atom. For example, lines
had been noticed in the spectra of light emitted by heated gases or gas discharges. The
Rutherford atomic model would not have predicted these lines. Light itself was difficult
to explain as it seemed to have both a particle nature and a wave nature, and the field of
thermodynamics did not seem to be related to molecules and atoms at all.
The original hypotheses and theories evolved over the twentieth century into two great
pillars of theoretical thinking and analysis. Today, these pillars of physics are called quantum
theory or quantum mechanics, and general relativity. Along the way, it has taken the
profound thoughts of dozens of brilliant minds in physics to bring these theories to their
present stage of development. In this chapter, we will take a short glimpse at some of this
historical work. Sometimes the path is highly intertwined, but it is never boring. Both of
these theories have given us a picture of our surroundings, from the infinitesimally small
subnuclear domain within the atom to the vast reaches of space and the nature of the
universe itself. The two great theories are independent:
General relativity successfully describes the motion and behaviour of bulk matter and
its gravitational interaction by the radiation of gravity waves.
Quantum theory successfully explains the behaviour of subatomic matter in terms
of constituent particles and their force interactions, which has culminated in the
standard model of particle physics.
Standard quantum theory

Standard quantum theory today gives us three fundamental forces. These act between, and
within, individual atoms of matter that are made up of twelve basic particles. These forces are:
the electromagnetic force, which holds the electrons within the atom
the strong nuclear force, which binds the nucleus together
the weak nuclear force, responsible for radioactive decay and the interactions of
natures most amazing particle, the neutrino.
A fourth fundamental force is called the gravitational force. Gravity acts over huge distances
and holds the universe together. It is in the realm of general relativity and spacetime.
Gravity, surprisingly enough, is the least well understood, despite the efforts of Newton and
Einstein. This force is still the odd one out in a grand unified theory of everything, or TOE
as physicists call it. Physics will need in the future to develop a concise TOE if it is to answer
the big questions of Who we are? What we are? and Where we are? Famous physicists, such
as Stephen Hawking and colleagues, are working to combine quantum theory and general
relativity, but it is complex theoretical work. Lets go back to the start!

Q UA N T U M T H E O RY E F F E C T S 29.2
Plancks black body radiation

At the beginning of the last century, interesting experiments were being performed on the
nature of the radiation emitted by a black body. A black metallic object will not reflect any
light shining onto it, so as it is heated, any light radiation that it emits is solely coming from
within itself. A good example is the electric hotplate of a stove, which begins to glow red,
then orange and even white if it is allowed to become hot enough. The distribution of inten-
sity versus frequency of light emitted for this type of hot body is given in Figure 29.1.
Figure 29.1
Black body radiation.
8000 K
Photo 29.1
Intensity
Crookes radiometer with the black

and white vanes clearly visible. 6000 K
4000 K
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Frequency (Hz 1014)
The shapes of these graphs at different temperatures went against all theoretical predic-
tions based on James Clerk Maxwells electromagnetic theories. Questions such as, Why
werent ultraviolet, X-rays or gamma rays produced? or Why was there more red frequency
radiation than blue? could not be satisfactorily answered. Physicists such as Robert Kirchhoff
and Nobel laureates John Rayleigh and Wilhelm Wien had produced equations that described
only parts of these distribution curves, but none could satisfactorily describe the whole range.
A German physicist, Max Planck (18581947), finally produced the equation that did
A Crookes radiometer consists of describe the black body distribution, and in doing so, he proposed a revolutionary theory of
four paddles suspended on a subatomic matter. Planck proposed that the energy released by a black body was, in fact,
needle point in a low pressure emitted by atoms, and that these atoms could only vibrate at certain frequencies that were
glass container. One side of the multiples of some smallest value. He had to assume that the energy released by the atoms
paddle is painted black, the
was not given off continuously, but in small energy packets that he called quanta (singular
other side white. When placed
in the Sun it turns around.
quantum), from the Latin quantus, meaning how much. Each frequency, f, of light emitted by
Explain whether the black side the atoms is proportional to the change in energy of the atom, so that, for example, since
moves away from the sun or violet light is twice the frequency of red light, the energy quanta of violet light are twice the
towards it (and why). size of those of red light. Mathematically, the quanta energy is given by E = hf, where the
It goes the opposite way near a constant h is called the Planck constant and has a value of 6.63 1034 J s. Since the Planck
block of dry ice (44C). Most constant is extremely small in magnitude, energy quanta are not noticeable in most everyday
people (even scientists) gave circumstances. A typical light source such as an incandescent bulb releases millions of quanta
the wrong explanation. Check per second, which lead to the amount of light energy that we are familiar with.
our web page and all will be
With this idea in place, Planck was able to describe the reason for the absence of high
revealed.
energy emissions from black bodies. The vibrating atoms were simply not large enough to
Q u a n t u m P h y s i c s a n d F u n d a m e n t a l Pa r t i cl e s 655
provide the necessary energy changes. Also, certain states of vibration of the atoms were
more likely and this accounted for the peak in the frequency distribution curves. As we will
see later, Plancks idea that the whole atom vibrates is, in fact, not quite correct. Energy The photon was named by US
emissions are due to electron movements (transitions) within the atom. Quantum theory physicist Gilbert Lewis in 1926
today shows that electrons in atoms can only move between defined energy levels within the using the Greek phos, meaning
light. See if you can prove
atom. Planck himself did not have any evidence for energy quanta, but it was an excellent
these statements wrong (we
idea that perfectly described solutions to several problems in physics at the time. The quan-
doubt you can):
tum theory has provided the basis for all modern physics since 1900 and for his work, Max A All words beginning with the
Planck received the 1918 Nobel prize for physics. It now remained for the quantum idea to be prefix phos are related to
applied to both light and matter. the concept of light.
Light itself can be assumed to come in small packets called photons, which give light B The planet Venus used to be
radiation a reason for behaving like particle systems, under certain conditions. If light radia- called Phosphor when
tion is governed by the wave equation for velocity, c, frequency and wavelength, namely appearing as the morning
c = f, then light photons will have energy given by: star.
E = hf = hc

Note: c is the velocity of electromagnetic radiation (light) and equals 3.0 108 m s1.
The photoelectric effect Figure 29.2

Further proof of the quantum idea came when Albert Einstein (18791955) applied the Photoelectric apparatus.
theory to explain the photoelectric effect. When a metal surface is illuminated by a high-
Incident
frequency light source, electrons may be ejected from the metal as a photocurrent with def- light
inite characteristics (Figure 29.2). Experiments on this effect, by physicists from as early as above (f0)
1887, had confirmed that electrons were ejected from the metal only if the frequency of the metal
evacuated collector
incident light exceeded a minimum value called the threshold frequency, f0, which was dif- anode
photocell
ferent for various metals. Even very intense light, if the frequency was below the threshold
value, would not eject electrons and cause the flow of the photocurrent. Two other important
characteristics of the photoelectric effect are:
photoelectrons
Once a photocurrent is registered, increasing the incident light intensity increases A
the amount of photocurrent flowing.
_ + voltage
Light of a higher frequency than that required to produce a photocurrent increases
the kinetic energy of the ejected electrons. (V)
microammeter
The electron kinetic energy is measured by a negative potential applied to the collector plate, photocurrent
which repels the ejected electrons and eventually becomes large enough to stop the photo-
current. This reverse cut-off voltage, Vc, applied to the collecting plates in the electron tube
is also called the stopping potential. This is the opposite to an electron gun.
Each of these experimental observations was impossible to explain using conventional N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
wave theories of light. Einstein applied the newly developed quantum theory to this effect in At night, turn all the lights off
1905, and provided the perfect explanation. His explanation revived the light particle model, and turn the oven element ON.
and for this effort he was later awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1921. Feel the heat before it glows.
Einstein assumed that the light quanta, called photons, interacted with the surface Watch the element glow and
electrons in the metal so that a single photon ejects a single electron. The photon will give see how it changes from red to
either all of its energy to the electron or none of it. Each electron can only absorb the energy red/orange. In furnaces, the
of one photon and the collision interactions between photons and electrons in the metal are elements change colour further
totally elastic and obey the law of conservation of energy. Einstein defined three forms of and end up almost white.
If the blueviolet end of the
energy in the system, namely:
spectrum indicates higher
photon energy, E = hf, which is frequency-dependent energy, why doesnt the element
work function or energy of binding of the electron to the metal, which is measured as go red blue instead of
W = hf0, where f0 is the threshold frequency red white?
maximum kinetic energy, EK(max), of the ejected electrons from the metal surface.

Einsteins photoelectric equation relates these energy values together such that conservation
occurs, namely:
E K(max) = hf W

1
or 2
mv 2 = hf hf 0 = qV c
where Vc is the cut-off voltage necessary to reduce the flowing photocurrent to zero; v is the
ejected electron velocity.
(a) (b)
Figure 29.3 A
Results from photoelectric 5
EK(max) ( 1019 J)
experiments: metal 1
(a) I/V characteristics; bright light 4 metal 2
(b) EK MAX/frequency. 3 f 0)
dim light (f
2 =h
EK
1 slope = h
VC +
Voltage 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
Frequency, f ( 1014 Hz)
Figure 29.3 represents a typical set of graphs obtained from photoelectric experiments
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E carried out on various metals. Notice that the slope of the straight lines of graph (b) can be
In a dark room let your eyes used to calculate the value of Plancks constant. This experimental determination of h was
become dark-adapted. Give your first performed by Robert Millikan in 1916.
eyelid a sharp tap with your The quantum theory was by now well and truly established both in theory and in experi-
finger and you should see a ment. The term photoelectric effect can be applied equally well to other phenomena such as
flash. A single rod will detect a photoionisation in gases, whereby light radiation can ionise gas atoms, or photoconduction
single photon, but your visual where incident light photons are absorbed by various crystalline materials, giving their elec-
system only responds when
trons enough energy to break free and become electrical conductors. Today, photovoltaic
between two and ten photons
semiconductor materials are common, such as solar cells, photo diodes and transistors. In
are absorbed by your rods
within 0.1 seconds; you will
these materials, incident light photons of sufficient energy create electron-hole pairs in the
then see the flash. Estimate crystal and increase electrical conduction. Refer back to Chapter 23.
how much power two visible
photons will give to your eyes
in 0.1 seconds.
Questions
1 What are the four fundamental forces in nature? On what do they each act?
Which has the biggest range, and the smallest range?
2 Calculate the energy and wavelength of light of frequency 4.3 1014 Hz. What
colour would it appear to our eye?
3 Which light has the more energetic photons, red or violet? Explain why.
4 If the threshold frequency for rubidium metal is 5.0 1014 Hz, calculate the
value of the work function of the metal and the maximum velocity of
photoejected electrons when the metal is illuminated by light photons of
frequency 8.1 1014 Hz. The mass of the electron is 9.11 1031 kg.
The Compton effect and light pressure

Further evidence for the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation came with the discovery
of X-ray scattering, by Arthur Holly Compton (18921962). Compton used apparatus as shown
in Figure 29.4, and showed that the X-ray photons behaved like particles with definite
momentum characteristics. The X-rays collided with the electrons in the graphite target. The
scattered X-ray photons, after collision, possessed reduced energy and longer wavelengths
when compared with the unscattered photons. In a Compton collision, between an X-ray
photon and an electron, the change in energy is not complete and the reduction in energy
+
Figure 29.4
ed
Compton scattering.
ct
eje
graphite
target
unscattered
X-rays incident

hf e
detector scattered hf
collimator
paths
HV f < f
X-ray scattered
tube
and wavelength is dependent on the angle of scattering. The electron involved is scattered
or ejected from the graphite in such a way that both energy and momentum are conserved in
the collision. Remember that momentum is a vector quantity. Comptons collision calculations
correctly predicted the speed and direction of the recoil electrons. For this work, as well as
further X-ray spectra analysis, Compton shared the 1927 Nobel prize for physics with British
physicist Charles Wilson.
When considering the photon as a particle, we can derive a formula for the photon
momentum. Einsteins massenergy equivalence relationship E = mc2 links the idea of physi-
cal mass to energy; however, the quantum idea states that photon energy is E = hf, thus the
photon particle energy will be:
E = mc 2 = hf
or mc = hf
c
But mc is the definition of photon momentum, p, hence:
p = hf = h where c = f
c
h
Since light or electromagnetic photons have momentum, p = , then, in collisions with
surfaces, they should be able to exert a force and create light pressure. This is exactly what
does occur in practice. The pressure exerted depends on the rate of change of momentum per
unit area of illuminated surface. The pressure of light is extremely small at the Earths surface.
It is a factor of 2.5 1010 less than standard atmospheric pressure. As early as 1903, Edward
Nichols and George Hull measured light pressure using mirrors and a sensitive suspended fibre
torsion balance, achieving a result of 7.01 106 N m2.
The revolution in thinking caused by the quantum theory and its successful application
to black body radiation, the photoelectric effect and X-ray Compton scattering, caused elec-
tromagnetic energy to be given a dual nature by physicists. The waveparticle duality
concept for light and other forms of electromagnetic energy is our current explanation. If we
are describing what light is (!) then we need to consider what we are explaining. In general,
if light energy is interacting with other forms of light energy, then the wave behaviour model
is the best explanation, as, for example, in optical effects such as interference and diffrac-
tion. If light is interacting with matter, then the particle behaviour model is the best expla-
nation, as, for example in Compton collisions. The mathematical model bringing together the
waveparticle duality concept used to describe matter and energy is called wave mechanics
or quantum mechanics and will be discussed further in Section 29.4. First, before taking a
look at these ideas, lets further investigate the models and theories applying to the atom and
see how the quantum idea is vitally important here also.

T H E B O H R ATO M A N D ATO M I C S P E C T R A 29.3

In 1911, the New Zealand-born British physicist Ernest Rutherford had established the
existence of the atomic nucleus, and he made it possible to consider the simplest atom of
hydrogen as a single positive charge with a single negative electron circling it in planetary
fashion. This atomic model had a serious flaw in that, according to the electromagnetic
equations of Maxwell, any electron revolving in circular fashion around a nucleus is under
centripetal acceleration and should continuously radiate electromagnetic energy. This would
allow the electron to continuously lose energy and cause it to spiral in toward the nucleus.
Thus, the equations predicted that the Rutherford atom should be highly unstable and not
exist for any length of time as it would quickly lose its energy and collapse. Clearly, this was
not what actually happens.
In 1913, Danish physicist Niels Bohr applied the quantum concept to the problem and
proposed a revolutionary hypothesis. His idea was that the electron would only radiate energy
in exact quanta or definite amounts of energy. As it did so, it would move inward toward the
nucleus in definite quantum orbitals or allowed orbits until a stable orbit was reached. This
stable orbit is called a stationary state. Normal atoms exist with their electrons in station-
ary states, but if energy is added to any atom, such as by particle bombardment or sufficient
heating, then the electrons are forced into higher energy states (orbitals) temporarily by
absorbing definite quanta. This process of absorption produces an excitation energy state.
As the atom restabilises, the electron jumps back down to a stationary state in a possible
series of steps. Each orbital jump results in the emission of a photon of electromagnetic
energy of definite predictable value.
Figure 29.5 Thus, every change in orbit by an electron corresponds to the absorption or emission of
The Bohr atomic model.
a quantum of electromagnetic radiation. (Refer to Figure 29.5.) If an atom absorbs too much
radiant energy released as energy then the outermost electron will be promoted completely away from the attraction of
electron jumps from higher the nucleus and will be lost. This is called ionisation energy and for the simplest hydrogen
to lower orbital
atom is equal to 2.17 1018 J. Bohr also proposed that within the atom only two electrons
negative could occupy the same orbital at any one time. Further work on this idea resulted in the Pauli
electron exclusion principle and it became possible to show that atoms are arranged in the periodic
table as a result of electrons being arranged in definite patterns from the lowest energy
orbitals outward.
The spectrum or range of emitted light released by hydrogen gas atoms had been known
since 1885 when Johann Balmer, a Swiss physicist, had worked out a mathematical link
between the wavelengths of the light colours emitted. You should recall that the component
wavelengths of any light source can be examined by passing the light through a prism
spectrometer, which splits the light into its spectral colour components. Niels Bohr could
positive quantum now choose orbits for the hydrogen electron that would yield exactly the required wave-
atomic nucleus orbitals lengths for the emitted spectral lines of the hydrogen spectrum, according to the generalised
Balmer equation:

1 1 1
= RH 2
nf 2 ni
where RH is the Rydberg constant (1.097 107 m1); nf and ni are the initial and final
principal quantum numbers.
Figure 29.6 represents the energy level diagram for hydrogen that correlates the Bohr
orbitals and their corresponding energies with the series of spectral lines present in the
hydrogen spectrum. The spectral series are named after their discoverers.
Series Figure 29.6

Energy level diagram for hydrogen.
Lyman Balmer Paschen Brackett Pfund
Energy
n= 0.0
n=5 0.87 1019 J

n=4 1.36 1019 J
n=3 2.41 1019 J
n=2 5.43 1019 J
E1
En =
n2
n=1 21.7 1019 J(E1)

ground state
Mathematically, Bohrs theory used a quantum condition that specified that the angular
momentum of the electron was restricted to allowed orbits, given by:
mvr n = nh
2
where n = 1, 2, 3 . . . integers; rn is the radius of the nth orbit.

He was able to show that, at least for the simplest hydrogen atom, the radius of the
electron for each quantum orbital possible is given by:
n 2h 2
rn =
4 2kmq 2
where n is the principal number; k is the Coulomb constant; m, q are electron mass and
charge.
Thus, for n = 1, the Bohr radius takes a value of 5.3 1011 m, and represents the orbital
radius for the electron in the lowest energy state or ground state of the hydrogen atom.
Notice that in the energy level diagram of atomic hydrogen, the energy associated with the
ground state is a negative value of 21.7 1019 J and represents the ionisation energy for
hydrogen. In order to remove an electron out to infinity, this amount of energy is required.
Because we can say that the electron at infinity has zero energy, by definition, all possible
energy states of the hydrogen atom can be regarded as negative. According to the Bohr
theory, the energy of each quantum orbital is given by the series:

1
En = E1 where E 1 is the ground state energy
n2
E 1 = 2.17 10 18 J or 13.6 eV (electronvolts)
Notice that other spectral series represented in the hydrogen spectrum are named after
the people who discovered them. It is only the Balmer series of jumps back to n = 2 that
represents visible light emissions. You might like to check this out, using an energy
wavelength calculation.

Bohrs theory was very good at predicting the spectral line series of the hydrogen atom,
but could not correctly predict those for more complex atoms, nor could it predict other
observable features such as spectral line intensity differences and fine splitting of the lines
themselves within a magnetic field. Even the basic notion of why the electron oscillated only
within defined quantum orbitals could not be explained. Nevertheless, his application of the
quantum theory to atomic structure was very important and, for his work, Bohr gained the
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E 1922 Nobel prize for physics. Today, the newly discovered artificial radioactive element of
We read in a US science atomic number 107 is called Nielsbohrium (Ns). The isotope was discovered by a Soviet
magazine that if you shone a group at Dubna in 1976 by bombarding bismuth with chromium ions to form 216017Ns.
laser beam onto glow-in-the-dark
Example
plastic it would go dark (yes,
(a) Determine the energy of an electron in both the fourth and second quantum
dark!) where the laser hit. This
sounds like rubbish, but
orbitals of the hydrogen atom.
we tried it. What do you think (b) What is the frequency of the energy emitted when an electron jumps between
happened? these orbitals?
(c) Calculate the wavelength of this emitted light (i) in metres, (ii) in nanometres.
Solution
(a) Fourth level n = 4.
E 4 = E 12 = 2.17 10 = 1.36 10 19 J
18
4 16
Second level n = 2.
E 2 = E 12 = 2.17 10 = 5.34 10 19 J
18
2 4
Electron jump, energy released is:
E = E i E f = E 4 E 2
E = 4.07 10 19 J
E
(b) Use the equation E = hf or f = h
f = 4.07 10 34 = 6.14 10 14 Hz
19
6.63 10
which represents the Balmer series line of colour blue.

v
(c) Use the equation v = f or =
f
3 10 8
= = 4.88 10 7 m
6.14 10 14
Convert to nanometers: 4.88 10 7 m = 488 10 9 m = 488 nm
FranckHertz experiment
In 1914 two German physicists, James Franck and Gustav Hertz, the nephew of Heinrich
Hertz, performed a very important experiment that supported Bohrs ideas on quantum
atomic absorption and emission. Their apparatus is represented in Figure 29.7. Your school
laboratory probably has a demonstration electronic valve apparatus that can be used to
obtain similar results. The glass chamber contains mercury vapour at a low pressure of about
low pressure (Hg) Figure 29.7

grid
plate collector The FranckHertz apparatus.
heater vapour A
cathode
+
(V1) 0.5 V
high voltage
1.0 mm Hg. A hot cathode emits electrons towards a mesh grid that is maintained at some
variable potential with respect to the cathode. Beyond the grid mesh is a solid metal plate
maintained at about negative 0.5 V with respect to the grid that collected the high energy
electrons and allowed the measurement of tube current by the microammeter. The experiment
involved gradually increasing potential V1 and noting the tube output current. Typical results
are shown graphically in Figure 29.8, which consists of a series of current peaks and troughs
separated by an average value of 4.9 V.
Franck and Hertz explained these results in terms of quantum absorption. At voltages
below 4.9 V, the electrons interact elastically with the mercury atoms. At 4.9 V, the electrons
transfer most of their energy to the mercury atoms because the first excitation energy for
mercury is 4.86 eV. They now do not have enough energy to reach the collecting plate and
the current falls into a trough. If the voltage is increased again, the electrons gain enough
energy to reach the plate again. At 9.8 V, the electrons can make two inelastic collisions
with the mercury atoms and so the current falls again into a trough. If the spectrum of the
mercury is examined, an ultraviolet line can be found at 253 nm, which corresponds to the
emission from the atoms of photons of energy 4.9 eV as they return to their ground state. It
is this wavelength that is produced in a fluorescent light tube and converted to white light
by the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass tube itself.
Figure 29.8
4.9 V 4.9 V Graphical results of the
ionisation
Output current (A)
10 10.4 eV FranckHertz experiment and

n=4 8.84 eV
the energy level diagram
Energy (eV)
8 n=3 6.67 eV for mercury.

6 n=2 4.86 eV
4
2
n=1
0 eV
5 10 15 ground state
Voltage, V1
Energy levels for Hg
The FranckHertz experiment verified that atoms contain discrete energy levels and In 1800, English astronomer
cannot absorb random amounts of energy. The colliding electrons lose energy only in discrete William Herschel placed a
quantum chunks corresponding to precise energy differences between the atoms energy thermometer in various parts
states. This same energy quantum is reradiated as a precise single wavelength when the of the spectrum of sunlight.
excited mercury atom returns to its ground state. Figure 29.8 illustrates the energy level He found that the highest
temperature was beside the red
diagram for mercury. It should be realised at this point that every atom has its own character-
where there was no colour.
istic energy level diagram and thus the excitation spectra will be like an atomic fingerprint.
Explain that if you can.
(See the photo in the colour section.)
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is used in analytical processes to definitively identify individual atoms or
molecules. It is a very powerful technique. The word spectrum comes from the Latin specere
meaning to look at. The first prism spectroscope was, in fact, designed by Gustav Kirchhoff
and Robert Bunsen in 1859 while working on chemical analysis.

When light from a hydrogen discharge tube is examined through a spectroscope, distinct
lines appear on a black background, each one corresponding to an electron transition in the
hydrogen atom. (See Figure 29.9 below.)
Figure 29.9 410 434 486 656
The spectrum of hydrogen
shows the four lines of the H H H H
Balmer series, all of which are
in the visible region. 400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 800 nm
As mentioned previously, four of the lines (the Balmer series) are in the visible region.
They are labelled alpha, beta, gamma and delta and correspond to the following transitions:
Ta b l e 2 9 . 1
LABEL TRANSITION ENERGY OF FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH COLOUR
PHOTON (J) (Hz) (nm)
H 3 2 3.02 1019 4.57 1014 656 red
H 4 2 4.09 1019 6.17 1014 486 green
H 5 2 4.58 1019 6.91 1014 434 blue
H 6 2 4.85 1019 7.31 1014 410 violet
When physicists turned their spectrometers towards the heavens and examined the spec-
tra of starlight they found spectral lines characteristic of elements they had examined on
Earth. The spectra of hydrogen and helium were particularly noticeable, but other elements
such as calcium gave strong lines in their spectrometers. Astronomers were thus able to infer
the composition of stars from their spectral signatures. But what was most astonishing was
that many of the characteristic patterns were shifted towards the red end (low wavelength)
of the spectrum. The term red shift was coined to describe this phenomenon.
Recalling that the frequency of a sound changes as a source moves in relation to an
observer, physicists used this very same Doppler effect (see Chapter 16, Section 13) to pro-
pose that the red shift was due to the motion of stars speeding away (receding) from us. This
is called radial or recessional velocity (RV).
In a star that is at rest with respect to us (the Sun), or in a hydrogen discharge tube in
the laboratory, the hydrogen line wavelengths are 410, 434, 486 and 656 nm. By measuring
the amount of shift towards the red, we can determine how fast the star or galaxy is moving
away. For example, Figure 29.10 shows the line spectrum of standard hydrogen (Spectrum I)
and for two objects that have red-shifted spectra.
Figure 29.10 410 434 486 656

Comparison of hydrogen spectra
I H H H H
from a laboratory source (I) and
from stars speeding away from us
(II and III). Note the red shift. 400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 800 nm
414 438 491 663
II H
400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 800 nm
430 456 510 689
III H
400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 800 nm
Spectrum II is for the galaxy Centaurus. Note that the H line is red-shifted by 7 nm from
the standard 656 nm to 663 nm. A shift of 7 nm from 656 nm is a ratio of 7/656 or 0.01, which
means the galaxy is travelling away from us at 0.01 times the speed of light (0.01c). This cor-
responds to a speed of 3200 km s1. The other hydrogen lines are shifted by the same ratio.
The red shift z is defined such that:

0
z= = = v , so v = c = cz
0 0 c 0
Example
Spectrum III is for the galaxy Ursa Major I. Calculate its radial velocity.
Solution
The H line has been shifted from 656 nm (o) to 689 nm (), hence = 23 nm. The red
shift ratio (z) = 23/656 = 0.05, so it is moving at 0.05 times the speed of light (0.05c) away
from us. This equals 10 500 km s1.
Note that this equation only works for galaxies moving a few tenths the speed of light or
slower. Those with large z values need a relativistic version of the above equation:
v
1+ c
1+z=
v
1 c
If you want a challenge, show that the speed of the galactic cluster named 3C295 is actu-
ally 0.46c (using the relativistic formula), not 1.64c as predicted using the non-relativistic
formula. The H line has an observed wavelength of 1076 nm.
When z is larger than 1, cz is faster than the speed of light, and while recessional veloc-
ities faster than light are allowed, this approximation using cz as the radial velocity of an
object is no longer valid. Thus for the largest known red shift of z = 6.3, the recessional
velocity is not 6.3c = 1 890 000 km s1. It is also not the 285 254 km s1 given by the
special relativistic Doppler formula. The actual recessional velocity for this object depends on
the cosmological parameter omega () which is a measure of the expansion of the universe
(see Chapter 6).
A c t i v i t y 2 9 . 1 I N A G A L A X Y FA R , FA R AWAY
1 The spectrum of light from the galaxy Hydra is shown in Figure 29.11. Compare
the radial velocity of Hydra as calculated by using both the non-relativistic and
relativistic formulas.
Figure 29.11
Spectrum of the galaxy Hydra.
IV H
400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 800 nm
2 The calcium-K line and the calcium-H line for the galaxy Leo are 419 nm and
398 nm respectively. Locate the standard Ca-K and Ca-H wavelengths and
calculate the velocity of Leo.
3 The galaxy Persus is known to have a radial velocity of 5430 km s1. Draw a
simple line spectrum to show the relative spacing of the four hydrogen lines in
Persuss spectrum.
Questions
5 Show that the emitted photon from a mercury atom dropping from its first
excitation energy level to the ground state is, in fact, an ultraviolet photon.
6 Is it fair to say that Compton scattering between photons and electrons is like
billiard balls colliding? Explain.

7 Define these terms as applied to quantum atomic theory: (a) quantum orbital;
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E (b) excitation energy; (c) ionisation energy; (d) principal quantum number;
In 1801, German scientist (e) Nielsbohrium.
J. W. Ritter put a piece of 8 Calculate the wavelengths of the first three lines of the Lyman series in the
photographic paper in the spectrum of hydrogen. To what part of the electromagnetic spectrum do they
spectrum of sunlight and found belong? (See Figure 29.6.)
that the greatest blackening was 9 Explain why the spectrum of hydrogen contains several very bright lines while
beside violet where there was no
the atom itself contains only one electron and one proton.
colour. Explain that if you can.
10 In a FranckHertz experiment carried out with potassium vapour, it is found
that current falls off rapidly at an applied voltage of 1.62 V. Calculate the
wavelength of the expected spectral line in the emission spectrum of potassium
when this voltage is reached.
A c t i v i t y 2 9 . 2 S P E C TA C U L A R C O L O U R S
1 Set up some spectrum discharge tubes using a high voltage induction coil.
Obtain your teachers assistance to do this and use a simple direct vision
spectroscope or diffraction grating to observe the spectra. Note both the colour
to the eye and the primary lines of the emission spectra. You should try gases
such as H2, He, Ne, CO2.
2 Placing small amounts of crystalline ionic salts (preferably chlorides) into the
flame of a bunsen burner using a clean platinum loop provides a display of
characteristic metallic atom spectral colours. Use this to explain the brilliant
colours of fireworks.
Q UA N T U M M E C H A N I C S 29.4
Figure 29.12 The problem of how an electron could exist in quantum orbitals without losing energy was
Electron standing waves: (a) orbital solved in 1924 when the French physicist Louis Victor de Broglie suggested that matter
wavelengths; (b) electron clouds.
could also exhibit wave-like characteristics. He called these matter waves. Louis de Broglie
h
(a) nucleus postulated that an electron particle could have a wavelength = , just as the photon has
h mv
a wavelength = as a result of its momentum.
p
This idea allowed Bohrs quantum orbitals to be considered as electron wave orbits whose
+ circumference contained an integral number of wavelengths (Figure 29.12(a)). The standing
waves of the electrons in orbit would not require any loss of energy and the angular momen-
tum of the electrons in their orbits is quantised. This de Broglie prediction was experimen-
tally verified by the American team of Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, as well as the
electron
British physicist George Thomson. They showed that a beam of electrons scattered by crystals
;;;;;
wave path does, in fact, produce a characteristic wave diffraction pattern.
The de Broglie wavelengths of anything, except subatomic particles, are very short. It
makes little sense, for instance, to think of the de Broglie wavelength of a Ford Fairlane
;;;
;;;;;
(b) nucleus driving down the road at 80 km h1 even though such a quantity exists. Assuming a mass of
1642 kg for the car, show that the de Broglie wavelength is 1.8 1038 m. In practice, this
;;;
;;;;;
value is immeasurably small and can be neglected.
The wave particle concept has led to very complex mathematical models of the nature
;;;
;;;;;
of atomic structure, called wave mechanics. Wave equations, developed by the Austrian
+
physicist Erwin Schrdinger, describe the wave properties of electrons in both hydrogen and
helium atoms. The solutions of Schrdingers wave equations also indicate that no two elec-
;;;;;
trons can possess the same set of characteristics defined by quantum numbers. This verified
the exclusion principle established by Wolfgang Pauli in 1925. Further mathematical refine-
electron ments by German theorists Max Born, Ernst Jordan and Werner Heisenberg led to matrix
probability
cloud
mechanics theory, which is very successful in making predictions about atomic behaviour.
Although quantum mechanics describes an atom in purely mathematical terms, a verbal

description and a visual model can be constructed for our modern view of the atom.
Surrounding the dense nucleus of any atom is a series of standing wave electron orbitals with
wave crests at certain points. The square of the wave amplitude at any point is a measure of
the probability that an electron can be found at that point at any given time. This gives us
a picture of an electron cloud around the nucleus. (See Figure 29.12(b).) This probability is
as good as we can get to defining the position of any electron and is a result of the
uncertainty principle, developed by Werner Heisenberg in 1927. His work pointed out that
any measurement made on a physical system will, in fact, change the system itself and
introduce a fundamental uncertainty into measurements of all other properties of that
system. Heisenberg was awarded the 1932 Nobel prize for physics for his contribution to
quantum mechanics. There is a hotel in England with an inscription above the door that reads
Heisenberg may have slept here!
The principle states: It is impossible to measure the position and the corresponding
momentum of a particle simultaneously with complete accuracy. The product of the
uncertainty in the position and momentum is greater than, or at best equal to, h/4.
Mathematically: x p = h
4
Again, it might be obvious that this effect is really only important in the subatomic
domain. For example, if an electron is measured with a velocity of 4.4 106 m s1, with an N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
uncertainty of 0.1%, then the value x = 1.3 108 m represents the positional uncertainty In 2002, Brisbane student
of the electron. Check it out. This uncertainty is, in fact, about 100 times the diameter of John Prior put a piece of
the hydrogen atom, so this principle will not even allow us to determine if the electron is photographic paper in a
within the atom. The uncertainty principle places large limits on measurement of atomic microwave oven and turned it
properties. on high. He knew that
Quantum mechanics has solved a lot of the great scientific problems that have troubled microwaves have a longer
physicists. It is interesting to note, however, that even Albert Einstein had difficulties with wavelength than infrared but
nothing happened. Are you
the ideas of quantum mechanics and had many famous arguments with Niels Bohr on the
surprised to hear of his
subject. It was Einstein, though, who proposed Heisenberg for the Nobel prize with the
findings? Explain.
endorsement: I am convinced that this theory undoubtedly contains part of the ultimate
truth. Perhaps one of the most striking features of quantum physics that has only recently
been discovered is that it is not possible in general to say when things actually happen. Time
itself is very peculiar indeed in quantum physics!
Quantum mechanics has given us a picture of atomic structure, and explained spectral
emissions and chemical bonding processes. Most importantly, it has led to an almost complete
picture of the fundamental forces and particles of nature. Lets take a look at these now.
29.5 T H E S TA N DA R D M O D E L
Fundamental forces
We have so far in this book recognised two fundamental forces of nature. Weve examined
mathematically both the gravitational and electromagnetic forces and understood that they
both act over large distances and obey inverse square laws with distance. (See Table 29.2.)
The gravitational force keeps planets in orbit, controls the expansion of the universe and
stops us from falling off the Earth into space. The electromagnetic force holds electrons in
their atoms and binds matter together as molecules. Four forces in total are required to
completely describe the universe around us, and in this section we look more closely at the
interactions of the other two fundamental forces called the strong interaction or strong
nuclear force and the weak interaction or weak nuclear force.

Ta b l e 2 9 . 2 F O U R F U N DA M E N TA L F O R C E S
FORCE EFFECTS RELATIVE STRENGTH RANGE
Gravitational all interactions 1 1038 large distances
inverse square
Electromagnetic charged particle 1 102 large distances
interactions inverse square
Weak nuclear weak interactions 1 1013 to 1 1018 m
e.g. beta decay
Strong nuclear strong interactions 1.0 (reference) to 1 1015 m
e.g. nucleon bonds
Hadrons and leptons

The strong interaction occurs within a class of particles called hadrons, of which the proton
and the neutron are the best examples. The strong nuclear force is responsible for keeping
protons and neutrons together in stable nuclei, despite the very obvious electrostatic
repulsion that also occurs and the extremely high nuclear density. In a typical atomic
nucleus the density of matter is about a billion tonnes per cubic centimetre. The only other
place in the universe that such high matter density occurs is within pulsars and neutron stars.
The strong nuclear force does not depend on electric charge and, within the confines of
the nucleus, has the peculiar property of increasing in strength as the particle separation
increases.
The weak interaction occurs between members of a class of particles called leptons, of
which the electron is the best example. Weak interactions may also occur between lepton and
hadron particles and are also independent of electric charge. The weak nuclear force is pri-
marily responsible for slow nuclear processes such as radioactive decay of atoms and seems
to control the energy-producing fusion reactions going on in stars. Physicists have also sur-
mised that this force played a vital role in the building up of heavy elements from light nuclei
in the early stages of formation of the universe. A typical strong-force interaction takes a
trillion trillionth of a second whereas a typical weak-force interaction, such as the decay of a
neutron, takes about fifteen minutes.
All knowledge of these nuclear forces has come from high energy physics using very
powerful particle accelerator machines. These accelerators have also given us knowledge of
the basic particles from which all matter is composed. Today, high energy particle theorists
refer to a standard model, which summarises the known constituents of matter as well as the
interactions between them. Table 29.3, as well as the diagram of Figure 29.13, portrays the
links between these force interactions and fundamental particles. Before looking at the nature
of these fundamental particles, let us complete the story of the force interactions.
The standard model consists of two parts, a part that is used to explain the weak nuclear
interactions, called the electroweak theory, and a second part used to explain the strong
nuclear interactions, called quantum chromodynamics, or QCD. Both parts are historically
based on an earlier theory called quantum electrodynamics, or QED, which was formulated
by Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger and Sin-itiro Tomonaga in the late 1940s. QED theory
explains the hydrogen atom as being stable because the proton and electron are continuously
exchanging a photon particle between themselves. Its like two tennis players being consid-
ered as connected together while they are hitting the ball backward and forward. The photon
is called a gauge boson particle and acts as the force carrier providing attraction. QED is
called a relativistic quantum theory and was one of the first attempts at combining
PlanckBohr quantum theory with Einsteinian relativity.
Ta b l e 2 9 . 3 T H E S TA N DA R D M O D E L
Matter: me = 9.1 1031 kg
First generation Second generation Third generation

Normal matter
Symbol Charge Mass Symbol Charge Mass Symbol Charge Mass
Up Charmed Bottom
6 (u) +2/3 610 me (c) +2/3 2900 me (b) +2/3 9800 me
QUARKS Down Strange Top
(d) 1/3 610 me (s) 1/3 300 me (t) 1/3 44 000 me
Electron neutrino Muon neutrino Tauon neutrino
6 (e) 0 0 () 0 < 0.5 me () 0 < 68 me
LEPTONS Electron Muon Tauon
(e) 1 me () 1 207 me () 1 3491 me
GAUGE BOSONS Act on Force interaction
8 Gluons Nucleons and quarks Strong nuclear

Intermediate vector Leptons Weak nuclear
Bosons W+ W Z0
Photons () Nucleons and leptons Electromagnetic
Gravitons * All particles Gravitational Figure 29.13
Overview of the standard
* = Not yet discovered model.
THE STANDARD Matter Antimatter

MODEL equivalents
Fermions spin = 1
Fundamental forces of 2
the universe
nuclear particles non-nuclear particles

Interactions by the hadrons leptons
gauge particles or
Bosons spin = 1, 2
quarks U S B electrons (e)
p+ : n0 d c T
weak ()
3 colours
1 electromagnetic baryons neutrinos

each
decay
force photon ( ) spin = 1 QQQ decay
2
muons ()
2 weak nuclear , , , i
+
force vector W
bosons W particles tauons* ()
Z hyperons
QQ
3 strong nuclear pi-mesons
mesons (pions)
force gluons (8)
spin = 0 decay to
kaons decay to
*4 gravitational eta-mesons
force graviton
J/ particle
* Higgs field boson* (Note: * = undiscovered)

grand unified
field theory
Superstrings
GUT

In 1979, the Nobel physics prize was awarded to Steven Weinberg, Abdus Salam and
Sheldon Lee Glashow for their work in applying QED to the electroweak theory. In the
weak nuclear interaction of radioactive decay, a neutron effectively decays into a proton, an
electron and an almost massless neutral particle called an antineutrino. The force that leads
to the decay of a neutron is very weak. The electroweak theory explains this interaction or
breakdown in terms of exchange particles called intermediate vector bosons designated as
the W+, W and Z0 particles. These particles are very heavy and were not discovered until 1983
at CERN in Geneva.
The antineutrino involved in weak nuclear decay is characteristic of a complete range of
antimatter particles that are now known to exist. In fact, every particle in physics has its own
antiparticle, with the same mass but opposite electrical charge. Antimatter is very scarce in
the universe generally because it has all been annihilated by normal matter during the early
formation stages of the universe. (See Figure 29.14.)
Figure 29.14
Particleantiparticle annihilation. e e+
m m
electron positron
MASSIVE NEUTRINOS ray photon
On 5 June 1998, at the

The second part of the standard model, called quantum chromodynamics (QCD), attempts
Neutrino-98 physics conference
at Takayama, Japan, it was
to account for the behaviour of theoretical particles, called quarks and gluons, in forming
announced that the Japanese elementary hadron particles such as protons and neutrons. Again, the theory suggests that
and American Super-Kamiokande the strong nuclear force holding neutrons and protons together is due to the exchange of a
experimental group had force-carrying boson, the gluon, between constituent quarks. The standard model allows for
detected evidence for the eight gluons and six quarks, although each quark has an associated mathematical property
non-zero mass of neutrinos. By called colour charge. The word chromo means colour. An analogy to this is the way that
studying neutrino interactions in
spectral colours can combine to produce light without colour, that is, white. Refer again to
a 50 000 tonne underground
tank of purified water, the group
Table 29.3 and Figure 29.13.
had concluded that neutrinos
were oscillating between types
as they interacted with the Fundamental particles
water and produced faint light All matter can be considered as divisible into the three major classifications of the standard
pulses. This would only be
model, namely leptons, hadrons and bosons. The bosons are unique in that they are
possible if they actually had
mass. The team concluded that
their own antiparticles. They are force carriers between other particles. The best known is the
the missing universe dark matter electromagnetic photon, while the proposed graviton is yet to be discovered.
may now be associated with The lepton particles are involved in weak interactions as well as electromagnetic and
neutrinos. gravitational interactions. The group includes electrons, muons and neutrinos and are parti-
cles that mathematically have spin of 1/2. Quantum theory prescribes that spin angular
momentum can only occur in certain discrete values. These discrete values are described in
N OV E L C H A L L E N G E terms of integer or half-integer multiples of the fundamental angular momentum unit, h/2,
A columnist in The Times where h is Plancks constant. In general usage, stating that a particle has spin 1/2 means that
(London) newspaper on its spin angular momentum is 1/2 (h/2). Electrons and muons are electrically negative, while
11 October 1996 asked: What the neutrinos are neutral. The six lepton particles occur in Flavour pairs as the:
use are quarks; can you eat electron and the electron neutrino
them? The distinguished muon and the muon neutrino
Cambridge metallurgist Sir Alan
tauon and the tauon neutrino.
Cottrell replied, I estimate that
The word lepton comes from the Greek leptos meaning small and fine, although the tauon
he eats 500 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 001 each day.
neutrino is nearly 68 times the mass of an electron.
Was Sir Alan correct? Neutrinos are the most mysterious of the known elementary particles. They were postu-
Make some rough estimates lated to exist by Wolfgang Pauli in the 1930s, when they were necessary to conserve con-
about food intake and derive servation laws in radioactive decay. Pauli called them neutrinos, meaning little neutral
your own amount. ones. In 1956 the neutrino was verified in experiments at the Savannah River reactor in the
Hint: the mass of a proton or a USA by physicists Fred Reines and Clyde Cowan Jr. Because the neutrinos have no charge and
neutron is 1.67 1027 kg.
negligible mass, they can only be observed by measuring their momentum recoil effects on Figure 29.15
other particles. They interact very weakly with matter. It has been estimated that solar Quark structure of a neutron
and a pi-meson.
neutrinos will pass through about 100 light years of water before losing energy. They have
n0 Neutron (udd)
no trouble passing through the Earth, for instance. The Sun is a powerful source of natural
neutrinos providing an electron neutrino flux density at the Earths surface of about 2
6.6 1010 cm2 s1. Lets face it, you are always being literally blasted with neutrinos. Its just +3 31
as well they appear to do no harm.
u d
The hadron particles may undergo strong nuclear interactions and are subdivided into two
classes called mesons and baryons. Sometimes they may be referred to as nucleons. The most
interesting feature of hadrons is that they can be broken down into even more fundamental d
particles called quarks. Separate quarks do not exist but mesons are quarkantiquark pairs,
while baryons are made of three-quark combinations. (See Figure 29.15.)
The mesons have mathematical spin of 0 and are electrically charged, either positive, 31
negative or neutral. Most have masses somewhere between the proton and the electron.
Meson comes from the Greek mesos meaning middle. They are very short-lived particles. For + Pion (ud)
example, the neutral pion may only last for about 1 1016 s and will decay into leptons.
The baryons have mathematical spin of 1/2. The commonest are the proton and the
neutron, with many being more massive than either of these. Baryon comes from the Greek
barus meaning heavy. The proton is stable and lasts indefinitely, while a free neutron decays
in about 15 minutes into a proton, an electron and an antineutrino. Most larger baryons, u d
called hyperons, decay into protons and neutrons. + 32 + 31
In the early 1960s, American physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig suggested
that hadrons were composed of more fundamental particles called quarks. Gell-Mann coined
the word from a phrase in James Joyces Finnigans Wake, three quarks for muster Mark. These
quarks, along with the leptons, constitute the true elementary particles of nature. This
concept brought a simpler order to the multitude of particles that had been discovered. The P H Y S I C S U P DAT E
symmetry of six quarks, six leptons and eight bosons was quite simple and allowed all other
An international team of
particles to be classified into the standard model that we have today. physicists has made a batch of
The six quarks are the up, down, strange, charmed, bottom and top; whimsical names strange particles in experiments
introduced to describe various mathematical properties within the theory of their behaviour. that could further our
An interesting story surrounds the naming of the strange quark. When kaon particles were understanding of the universe
first discovered in 1947 as a result of cloud chamber studies of cosmic rays, they were noted and help with the understanding
to do something peculiar with time. Kaons can be created extremely quickly in about one of collapsed stars called neutron
trillion trillionth of a second by colliding protons and neutrons, but once formed they take a stars, which are thought to
contain them.
considerably longer time of about one nanosecond to decay into pions. This seems to violate
In 2001, the team created
the law of time symmetry and reversibility of fundamental physical processes, which generally atomic nuclei containing two
require formation and decay processes to be opposites. This strange behaviour was strange quarks at the Brookhaven
subsequently called strangeness when also noted for several other particles. Today, it is National Laboratory in the United
known that strangeness is due to the presence of a strangeantistrange quark pair and the States. Since the 1960s only a
decay processes of kaons involve the weak nuclear force in such a way that the time handful of such particles have
reversibility laws are not violated. been detected and then only in
The quark proportional electric charges and masses are tabulated in Table 29.3. For small quantities; but the
Brookhaven team of specialists
example, a neutron particle contains an up quark, u, and two down quarks, d:
said, This is the first experiment
to produce large numbers of
neutron (n) udd = + 2 1 1 = 0 or neutral charge
these doubly strange nuclei.
3 3 3 The experiment took place
within a particle accelerator,
where atoms were smashed into
while a positive pion particle contains an up quark, u, and an antidown quark, d: their constituent particles, the
building blocks of matter

pion ( +) ud = + 2 + 1 = +1 or positive charge
producing significant numbers of
3 3 nuclei containing two strange
quarks. (Out of 100 million
collisions, 3040 examples of the
The last quark to be discovered, the top quark, was reported only in 1995 from an inter- doubly strange objects were
national team working at FERMILAB, near Chicago, USA. found).

Normal everyday matter around us consists entirely of only four particles the electron,
the electron neutrino, the up quark and the down quark. These particles are what you
consumed for lunch, for instance, so next time someone asks you what you had to eat, tell
them! The second generation of particles, the muon, the muon neutrino and the charmed and
the strange quarks, are found only in accelerator experiments and in cosmic rays. The third
generation particles, discovered since the mid-1970s in very high energy particle accelera-
tors, are thought to describe the state of matter in the early formation stages of the universe.
The dark matter problem

Physicists who study the evolution of the universe (called cosmologists) have calculated that
there is a critical density that will determine whether the universe will collapse under its own
gravitational attraction (a closed universe) or continue to expand as it currently does (an
open universe). When they began looking at the total amount of mass existing in the
universe they defined a quantity called omega (). This is the ratio of the measured density
of the universe divided by the critical density required for collapse. If omega is greater than
1.0 then the total amount of matter in the universe will eventually cause it to collapse.
If omega is less than 1.0 then the universe will continue to expand as it currently does
forever. Cosmologists have evidence to suggest that the universe is currently in a state of
inflationary balance which suggests that omega equals 1.0.
In actual observations and measurements, modern cosmologists have come across a big
problem the amount of visible matter in the universe produces an omega equal to 0.05 or
thereabouts. This means that there is about 95% of the total necessary mass of the universe
that is missing! The missing mass has come to be known as dark matter. A bigger problem is
that there also doesnt seem to be enough mass in the observable universe to account for the
predictions made by a very successful theory called big bang nucleosynthesis or BBN. This is
the current theory which correctly predicts the amounts of hydrogen and helium in the uni-
verse and gives the methods for forming larger elements from baryons. If BBN is correct, then
the original amount of baryonic matter formed in the Big Bang was about omega = 0.1. So the
big question in modern cosmology is: What constitutes the universes missing dark matter?
Several candidates are being investigated apart from the types of matter that are not eas-
ily observable, such as other planets, dim stars, brown dwarfs and exotic particles. The most
important of these are the neutrinos which, even if they have a very small mass of about 90
eV, are so numerous as to almost completely account for the missing dark matter. If the uni-
verse dark matter is mostly neutrinos, or similar particles, then the dark matter will be termed
hot dark matter HDM as the particles are very light, move very fast and will help form
large scale structures such as walls, filaments and strings.
The universe dark matter may also be made up of WIMPS or weakly interacting massive
particles so called because they are assumed to be extremely massive particles (about
10100 times the mass of a proton) that do not interact with normal matter very strongly.
These particles feel only gravity and the weak nuclear force; and they are impervious to the
strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force (hence we havent discovered them yet).
Such heavy particles would be slow-moving and are known as cold dark matter CDM. This
form of dark matter will have assisted in the formation of smaller structures such as galaxies.
Dark matter may in fact it be a mixture of CDM and HDM called mixed dark matter
MDM. Cosmologists believe that as the universe grows older, dark matter will become the
dominant energy-generation mechanism for the entire universe. Whatever is discovered in the
future, dark matter obviously has a lot to do with the way the universe works, and is respon-
sible for the way that the universe is structured.
29.6 THE FUTURE
Beam me up, Scotty!

Australian engineers and physicists are at the forefront of quantum technology. Collaboration
between research staff members at the Australian Research Centre (ARC) Quantum Computer
Technology facility at the University of Queensland and the Australian National University are
at the cutting edge in developing the next generation of computer technology called quantum
computers, which use particles of light (photons) and fibre optics rather than silicon chip
conduction. P H Y S I C S U P DAT E
Current computer technology is thought to be heading for a brick-wall barrier due to
Two international teams of
physical semiconductor size constraints and IC chip production costs around the year 2010.
astronomers, using NASAs
Quantum computers will provide a means of overcoming this barrier, by building computers Hubble Space Telescope and
at the level of single electrons and atoms, using principles of quantum physics rather than ground-based telescopes in
semiconductor physics and electronics. This technology will dramatically increase the speed Australia and Chile, have
and quantity of digital information that can be transmitted over fibre-optic cables. At the discovered the first examples of
heart of the process is the technique of teleportation which means breaking down an object isolated stellar-mass black holes
at one location and reconstructing it at a completely different location. This brings to mind adrift among the stars in our
the line Beam me up, Scotty in the famous Star Trek series. The researchers have demon- galaxy.
strated models for the teleportation of photons, which is the first step. Teleportation is not All previously known stellar
only necessary for quantum computing but will also have applications in general communi- black holes have been found in
orbit around normal stars, with
cations and security encryption techniques for data (cryptography).
their presence determined by
You can see that quantum theory and particle physics have been very intense areas of
their effect on the companion
research since the 1920s. It is remarkable that for physicists and cosmologists to understand star. The two isolated black
the universe it is necessary to understand the smallest elementary particles. This is because holes were detected indirectly
the elementary particles were formed in the first fragments of time following the Big Bang. by the way their extreme gravity
In fact, time itself only has meaning following the Big Bang! Understanding how these bends the light of a more
elementary particles form and interact gives insights into how the universe has evolved and distant star behind them.
where it is going. Eminent cosmologist Stephen Hawking, who became the Lucasian Professor These results suggest that black
of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge in 1979, has spent most of his life theorising holes are common and that
about the universe, elementary particles and black holes. Hawkings theory combines general many massive but normal stars
relativity and quantum theory into quantum gravity, in which he regards the universe as an may end their lives as black
holes instead of neutron stars,
expanding entity in which space and time form a closed surface without boundaries.
said David Bennett of the
Hawkings cosmology ideas relating to the history of time and the universe have been some
University of Notre Dame.
of the most important since the original Einstein field equations of general relativity and It has been confirmed recently
Edwin Hubbles discovery of the expanding universe. You may have seen Professor Hawking that a supermassive black hole
on television speaking through a voice computer and confined to an electric wheelchair. exists at the centre of our Milky
Today, with data from the cosmic background explorer satellite (COBE) and the Hubble Way galaxy. The black hole has a
space telescope, physicists are beginning to gain knowledge and understanding about the mass of 3.7 1.5 million solar
probable age and fate of the universe. The importance of particle physics to cosmology was masses, and the discovery
in evidence during the famous 1987 A supernova explosion. This was the first exploding star team now believes that a
visible to the naked eye for 384 years. Three hours before it was observed with telescopes, supermassive black hole exists
at the centre of every galaxy.
two separate underground particle detectors in Painesville, Ohio, USA and Kamioka, Japan
detected an influx of neutrino particles that were later analysed.
In physics, a so-called theory of everything, or TOE, would provide a complete descrip-
tion of all the forces and particles of nature. In other words, it would contain all parts of the
standard model described earlier. It might also explain why the laws of physics are the way
they are! It is this question of why? that is so important and not just a description of
what?! Grand unified theories or GUTs will unify the gravitational, electroweak and strong

interactions of nature. All this cosmology research is mathematically complex, but there are
numerous general interest books available on the subject that give the ideas without the
maths. Try to find some!
High energy particle physics is looking forward to 2007 when the exciting large hadron
collider (LHC) machine is due to come online at CERN. The LHC will produce head-on collisions
between pairs of protons with energies of about 8.0 TeV. Australian research groups are
already part of the many projects planned. It is expected that the LHC machine will have
enough energy to be able to confirm the existence of the Higgs field boson particle, impor-
tant in the standard model of matter because it produces spontaneous symmetry breaking and
allows normal particles to have mass. Even further into the future, high energy particle physi-
cists are expecting to produce electron-positron colliders to complement the LHC. These
machines will really begin to answer What next? type questions.
Questions
11 Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of an electron travelling at 7.5 105 m s1
in a cathode ray tube.
12 How does the notion of electron position probability allow us to view the
modern atom?
13 Under what conditions is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle important?
14 Explain the differences between leptons, hadrons and bosons.
15 Make notes on the important contribution made to quantum mechanical theory
by the following physicists: Wolfgang Pauli, Erwin Schrdinger, Richard
Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Stephen Hawking.
Practice questions
*16 Give two reasons why Compton scattering provides evidence that supports a
particle model for photons.
*17 What is the energy in both joules and electronvolts of a photon whose
wavelength is 5.5 107 m?
*18 The threshold frequency for a particular metal is 2.5 1014 Hz. If light of
frequency 6.0 1014 Hz falls onto the surface, calculate (a) the colour of the
incident light; (b) the incident photon energy; (c) the metals work function;
(d) the maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons; (e) the maximum
velocity of the photoelectrons.
*19 Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of an electron travelling at 80% the speed of
light. Compare this with the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
**20 Use the hydrogen energy level diagram in Figure 29.6 to answer the following:
(a) How much energy must be supplied to raise the atom from quantum state
n = 1 to n = 4?
(b) How much energy is needed to ionise the atom?
(c) What is the frequency of the photon emitted in an electron transition from
n = 5 to n = 1?
*21 Use Einsteins famous equation E = mc2 to determine the energy released when
an electron annihilates a positron, each of mass 9.11 1031 kg.
*22 Name the general types of particles that are influenced by the interactions of
(a) the weak nuclear force; (b) the strong nuclear force; (c) the gravitational
force.
*23 In the quark theory, a normal proton is described as a uud particle. Describe
what this means and prove that its electric charge is +1.
*24 Why is the standard model currently regarded as a very good description of the
fundamental interactions of nature?
**25 Table 29.4 contains data obtained from a photoelectric experiment. By graphing
EK(max) versus frequency, use these data to obtain values for:
(a) Plancks constant in electronvolts; (b) the threshold frequency for the
metal; (c) the work function of the metal.
Ta b l e 2 9 . 4
EK(max) (eV) 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.75 2.3 2.5
f( 1014) (Hz) 3.75 4.5 5.5 7.0 8.0 8.9
**26 Produce a quantum mechanical argument as to why it is easier to predict the

path of a more massive object, such as a bicycle, rather than a very small object,
such as an alpha particle.
**27 The energies of possible quantum states for a gas are listed below. Reorganise
these data and represent them on an appropriate energy level diagram. Assume
that the ground state energy has been included. Use the diagram to answer the
questions that follow:
8.64 1019 J 5.76 1019 J 16.6 1019 J
11.5 10 J
19 6.72 10 J
19
(a) What is the shortest and longest wavelength expected in the emission
spectra of this gas under excitation?
(b) How much energy is required to cause the gas atoms to change from energy
level 3 to energy level 4?
***28 It is found that a neutron travelling at 1.98 104 m s1 has the same energy as a
light photon of frequency 5 1014 Hz. What is the mass of the neutron?
***29 In an experiment similar to that of Franck and Hertz, electrons of energy 12 eV
are fired into a gas. Electrons penetrating the gas are collected and their
energies measured at 12 eV, 1.4 eV and x eV. If the spectrum of the light emitted
from the gas is also analysed and found to contain photon energies of 11.4 eV,
10.6 eV and y eV, deduce the values of x and y.
***30 Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of an electron in a cathode ray tube that
uses a gun accelerating potential of 750 V.
***31 The energy levels of a particular type of atom are as follows:
0.00 1019 J 3.36 1019 J 4.96 1019 J
5.76 1019 J 5.92 1019 J 8.16 1019 J.
(a) If atoms in the ground state are bombarded with electrons, what is the
minimum energy required to detach an electron from the atom?
(b) If the atoms are bombarded with electrons of energy 5.28 1019 J, what
will be the photon energies emitted?
(c) What will be the maximum energy of the scattered electron if a 1.60 1019 J
photon is produced in the collision of a 5.58 1019 J bombarding electron
with this atom?

***32 Propose a reason for a head-on collision of two beams of 1 GeV protons being
more useful to physicists studying high levels of energy than the collision of a
single beam of 2 GeV protons with a fixed target.
***33 In 1993, the United States Congress voted to stop funding one of the largest
particle accelerator projects ever conceived. It was the 20 TeV superconducting
supercollider (SSC) to be completed in an 87 km circumference tunnel near
Waxahachie, Texas. The reason for the projects abandonment was its projected
cost of over $US10 billion. Try to list arguments for why this type of project has
both advantages to science and disadvantages to society. How would you vote if
you had the chance?
**34 Max Planck and the Deutsche Physik The following extract has been taken
from the book Heisenberg probably slept here by Richard Brennan and published
by John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1997. It is the story of Max Planck, one of the most
famous German scientists who ever lived. He has been mentioned in this chapter
for his discoveries, especially the quantum nature of heat radiation.
Unlike Einstein, Max Planck was caught up in the patriotic frenzy in Germany
before the First World War and fully supported Germanys position in what he
believed to be a defensive and inevitable war against evil opponents. Planck was
the father of two boys of military age and the rector of a university soon to be
depopulated by the calling up for military service of both students and the
younger instructors. Soon Plancks children were all involved in the war. His girls,
Greta and Emma, had trained with the Red Cross and were awaiting assignment to
military hospitals. Plancks oldest son, Karl, was at artillery school, and his
youngest son, Erwin, was already at the front. What a glorious time we are living
in, Planck wrote to his sister. It is a great feeling to be able to call oneself a
German. How the Plancks ever tolerated their friend Einstein passing out antiwar
propaganda on street corners is a mystery. Possibly they considered him a
hopeless eccentric. By 1915, the horrors of the First World War became personal for
Planck. His nephew, a physicist, his brothers only son, was killed. His own son
Erwin had been taken prisoner, and Karl was injured and died of his wounds.
In late 1917 defeat was in the air and the German government was near
collapse. But even given all of the tragedy visited on his family and the imminent
defeat, Planck refused to sign a proclamation calling for the resignation of the
Kaiser, as Einstein had. He was loyal to the end. Despite political differences,
Plancks relationship with Einstein remained cordial.
Continuing family tragedies caused Planck great grief. In 1917, his daughter
Greta died suddenly a week after giving birth. Her twin sister, Emma, came to
Heidelberg to care for the infant, and in 1919 married the widower. By that years
end she too was to die shortly after giving birth. This double tragedy almost
destroyed Max Planck. There are times now, he wrote, when I doubt the value of
life itself.
Planck found solace from public and domestic tragedy both in his work and in
helping to raise his grandchildren. His quantum principles were becoming more
and more acceptable in the world of science and had expanded into virtually
every area of physics. Plancks theorised constant h came to be regarded as a
fundamental constant of nature, the equal of Einsteins c, the velocity of light.
The Nazis and Deutsche Physik

The next period of special note in Plancks life started at the dawn of the Nazi era.
In 1930, Planck became president of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society of Berlin, which
was then renamed the Max Planck Society. In his seventies at the time, Plancks
renown in the world of science was second only to that of Einstein.
The days of Nazi ascendancy in Germany were difficult both for science and
for Max Planck personally. The issues were Einstein, because he was a Jew, and the
theories of relativity and quantum physics. Anti-Semites (anti-Jews) identified
relativity and quantum theories as the decadent work of Jews. In contrast, the
right wing extolled the virtues of applied physics, called Deutsche Physik, as
opposed to contaminated theoretical or Jewish physics. Many German scientists
lined up on the Nazi side, and Planck found himself drawn into this ugly fight.
The position he took was ambivalent. On the one hand, the major prestigious
scientific societies of which he was a leading member remained silent and did not
come to Einsteins defense. Privately Planck condemned the Nazi attacks on
Einstein as scarcely believable filth. Publicly he tried to stay out of what he called
political issues. On the other hand, Planck vigorously defended the theories of
relativity. As president of the Society of German Scientists and Physicians, Planck
proposed that Einstein be invited to address the annual meeting. Planck hoped
that the irrefutable logic of Einsteins science could win the day. Einstein at first
accepted the challenge but was forced to withdraw after threats were made on his
life. Planck was fighting a losing battle to separate ivory tower science from street
politics.
In January of 1933, Adolph Hitler became Reich chancellor and the Nazis were
in full power. Max Planck was secretary of the Academy of Science and president
of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, key positions in the scientific establishment in two
organisations that depended on the government for financial support. Planck was
faced with the choice of either resigning and leaving the country or staying and
attempting to moderate Nazi policies. He chose the latter. His hope was to cause
compromises for the sake of science, but compromise was not to be had.
Einstein by this time had decided to emigrate to the United States. Letters
between the two physicists revealed their separate states of mind with regard to
the advisability of compromise with the Nazis, and they would eventually split
on this issue. Planck fought long and hard to protect his Jewish students and
colleagues, but in the end his efforts could do no more than delay their
persecution. Although he never lent his voice and prestige to the Nazi regime
in any way, he never stood up firmly or publicly against it. When the Nazis
barred all Jewish faculty and students from the universities and Planck
remained silent, Einstein broke off their long relationship and never spoke to
him again.
Despite the fact that Planck never publicly opposed the Nazi regime, the
regime had mixed feelings about Planck. On the one hand, he was a world-
renowned scientist, and he and his fame were used in Nazi propaganda efforts.
On the other hand, he continued to espouse relativity (even though he ceased
using Einsteins name in connection with the theories). This was a typical Planck
compromise, for which his reputation suffered abroad. On Plancks eightieth
birthday Hitler sent him good wishes, while at the same time Nazi minister for
propaganda Joseph Goebbels was trying to prove that he was one-sixteenth Jewish
and therefore not fit to lead German science.
Late in 1944, Max Plancks last living child, his beloved son Erwin, was
arrested in connection with the plot to kill Hitler. A Nazi court quickly found him
guilty, and he was condemned to death. Planck used every political means at his
command to save his son. According to one account of what
followed, a high Nazi official contacted Planck with a proposed bargain:

Planck would at last join the Nazi party, adding his still-considerable
international prestige to their cause. In appreciation, Planck was told, they
would seek to commute Erwins sentence to a prison term. The old man
refused. On 23 February 1945, Erwin was executed. Planck was devastated by
this loss. To a niece and nephew he wrote, He was a precious part of my
being. He was my sunshine, my pride, my hope. No words can described what
I have lost with him.
Question: Jewish physics and Deutsche Physik were labels applied by the
Nazis to two scientific viewpoints current in Germany in the 1940s. Which
one did Planck support and what factors contributed to his position? Was he
correct? Support your argument by comparing and contrasting the two types
of German science referred to in the article above.
**35 Read the following, about strange new particles, and answer the question
that follows.
The tremendous energies available in cosmic rays and particle accelerators led to
the discovery of large numbers of additional particles such as kaons and mesons,
but also some exotic ones which were referred to as strange particles. Whereas
once physicists had only three nuclear particles to deal with, they now had a
bewildering array of new particles with a great variety of charges, spins, masses
and quantum numbers. There was not the simplicity they had come to expect, so
a new theory was needed.
Quarks
A ray of hope came along in the early 1960s with Murray Gell-Mann and George
Zweig, who proposed independently that the many hadrons (i.e. baryons and
mesons) consisted of smaller particles, which became known as quarks (from
James Joyces novel Finnegans Wake). The quarks, along with the photon and
the leptons, would be the true elementary particles.
Three different types of quark were suggested, called up (u), down (d) and
strange (s). Later it was found that three more were required; these were known
as charm (c), top (t) and bottom (b). All six have antiparticles. Four of the
quarks, with some of their properties, are listed in the table below. For charge
to work out correctly quarks must all have fractional charges of either
2 or 1 .
3 3
A baryon is made up of three quarks and a meson is made up of one quark and
one antiquark.
TYPE OF QUARK SYMBOL CHARGE STRANGENESS
up u +2e 0
3
down d 1e 0
3
strange s 1e 1
3
antistrange s +1e +1
3
Adapted from Advanced Physics, J. Murray, 4th Edition by Tom Duncan (1994)
Question: Use the information above to determine the quark structure of each of
the fundamental particles in Table 29.5, given that each is composed of two or
three quarks. Show all reasoning.
Ta b l e 2 9 . 5
PARTICLE SYMBOL CHARGE STRANGENESS
pion + + +1 0
sigma 1 1

UNIT 10
E x t e n s i o n To p i c s
CHAPTER 30
Special and General Relativity
30.1 W H Y S P E C I A L , W H Y G E N E R A L ?
Einsteins name is always attached to the theory of relativity, yet the work of many famous
scientists before him underpins his theory. He questioned the accepted theories of time and
motion of earlier nineteenth-century physics and came up with a special theory of his own.
People today still ask some of the questions that bothered Einstein:
Can you travel faster than light?
Can you travel into the past or into the future?
If I ran at the speed of light with a mirror in my hand, could I see my own reflection?
When two rockets are moving relative to each other, can you tell which one is really
moving?
If a torch was moving, wouldnt its light travel faster than if the torch was at rest?
In Star Trek, warp speeds faster than light are equal to 2nc, where c is the speed of
light and n is the warp number. Can this be true?
In this chapter, we will investigate Einsteins Special Theory of Relativity and later the General
Theory.
In the beginning
For more than two centuries after its inception, the Newtonian view of the world ruled
supreme, to the point that scientists developed an almost blind faith in this theory. And for
good reason: there were very few problems that could not be accounted for using this Photo 30.1
Albert Einstein.
approach. Nevertheless, by the end of the nineteenth century new experimental data began
to accumulate that were difficult to explain using Newtonian theory. New theories soon
replaced the old ones. In 1884 Lord Kelvin said that there were nineteenth-century clouds
hanging over the physics of the time, referring to certain problems that had resisted expla-
nation using the Newtonian approach. Among the problems of the time were the following:
Light appeared to be a wave, but the medium for its propagation (the ether) was
undetectable.
The equations describing electricity and magnetism were inconsistent with Newtons
description of space and time.
The orbit of Mercury didnt quite match the Newtonian calculations.
Materials at very low temperatures did not behave according to the predictions of
Newtonian physics.
Newtonian physics predicted that a hot object (a black-body radiator) at a stable
constant temperature would emit an infinite range of energies not so!
During the first quarter of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein created revolutionary
theories that explained these phenomena. They also completely changed the way we under-
stand nature. To deal with the first two problems he developed the special theory of
relativity (in 1905). The third item required the introduction of his general theory
of relativity (1915).

The last two items can be understood only through the introduction of a completely new
mechanics: quantum mechanics. This chapter deals with special and general relativity. The
previous chapter introduced quantum mechanics.
Special Relativity is a deceptively simple theory and has only two assumptions or postu-
lates. They are presented here so you know what is coming, but without any explanation:
The laws of physics are the same in all uniformly moving reference frames. No
preferred frame exists.
The speed of light in free space has the same value, c, in all uniformly moving
reference frames.
Hmm! That doesnt seem too complicated. In fact, most physicists agree that the second pos-
tulate is redundant as it is a logical consequence of the first.
General Relativity does away with the restriction of uniform motion which tends to make
it more complicated philosophically, physically and mathematically. In fact, it took Einstein
10 years, with many false starts and wrong turns, from introducing special relativity to the
complication of his general theory in its final form. Along the way, the general theory became
a whole new way of understanding gravity.
FRAMES OF REFERENCE 30.2

In your earlier work on mechanics, you generally used the ground or Earth as your frame of
Figure 30.1 reference. For example, when a car is going at 60 km h1 along a road, this is with reference
The speed of the boat is affected by the
speed of the current. to the ground. But when a boat travels down a river, we can state its motion relative to the
ground or relative to the water (Figure 30.1). The choice is arbitrary. This notion of reference
riverbank frames had been discussed at length by Galileo and Newton and we need to begin there.
vwaterground = 2 m s1
Inertial frames of reference
This chapter deals with inertial reference frames that is, frames in which Newtons first
law (the law of inertia) is valid. If an object experiences no net force due to other bodies, the
vboatwater = 5 m s1
object either remains at rest or remains in motion with constant velocity (in a straight line).
Accelerating frames of reference, rotating or otherwise, are non-inertial frames, and we will
vboatground = 7 m s1 not be concerned with them here. The Earth is not quite an inertial frame because it rotates.
But it is close enough that for most purposes we can consider it an inertial frame. We could
also carry out inertia experiments aboard a ship that is travelling at constant speed. It, too,
is an inertial frame.
For Newton, there was a master or absolute inertial frame: a frame stationary relative to
absolute space. And any reference frame that is moving at a uniform velocity in a straight line
relative to this master inertial frame, he said, will also be an inertial frame. Any reference
frame that is accelerating with respect to absolute space, such as the cars frame when the
light turns green and the driver accelerates, will not be inertial.
Now imagine that you are riding in the car at, say, 100 km/h down a straight highway
and fluffy dice are hanging motionless from the rear view mirror. The principle of inertia is
true for you. A second observer is standing beside the highway, watching the car go by. For
her the dice are moving in uniform motion in a straight line. So the second observer is also
in an inertial frame.
In this case, a good question is: Who is moving? The answer is that you are moving
relative to the observer beside the highway, but the observer beside the highway is moving
relative to you. So you are both moving relative to each other. Both your inertial frame and
her inertial frame are equally valid. This realisation is often called Galilean relativity.
Special and General Relativity 681

An old favourite to illustrate this further is a cannonball dropped from the mast of a boat
sailing along past an observer on the shore (Figure 30.2). For a sailor on the ship the cannon-
ball appears to fall straight down (Figure 30.2(a)). From the point of view of an observer on
shore, the ball falls with a uniform acceleration downwards while moving with constant speed
in the horizontal direction that is, it follows a parabolic path relative to the shore just like
a rock thrown horizontally off a cliff (Figure 30.2(b)). However, for both observers the
cannonball lands at the base of the mast, and the laws of inertia are the same in both refer-
ence frames although the paths are different. We can say:
A reference frame that moves with constant velocity with respect to an inertial
reference frame is itself also an inertial reference frame.
However, in frames moving relative to each other, the velocity of an object will appear
different.
Figure 30.2
(a) (b) A falling cannonball travels different
paths depending on your frame of
reference: (a) from aboard the boat;
(b) from the shore as the boat travels
past you.
Activity 30.1 A GEDANKEN (THOUGHT) EXPERIMENT

Before you read any further, you should sort out these questions (well, except for (f)):
(a) What would the path in Figure 30.2(b) look like if gravity was (i) less than that
on Earth, (ii) more than that on Earth, (iii) zero?
(b) How would the path in Figure 30.2(b) differ if the cannonball was half the
original mass?
(c) If the mast was 20 m high, and the boat sailed at 20 m s1 relative to the
shoreline, how many seconds would the cannonball take to hit the deck in
Figure 30.2(a) and in Figure 30.2(b)?
(d) How far would the boat have travelled to the right in this time?
(e) Relative to the shore, what is the displacement and average velocity of the
cannonball in its journey shown in Figure 30.2(b)?
(f) A very difficult one! How far would the cannonball have travelled in Figure
30.2(b) relative to the shore line? You will need to work out the arc length of
the parabola. Hows your calculus?
Not all things change when viewed in different reference frames. For example, the number of
atoms in an object doesnt change. If you time your pulse rate on Earth as 72 per minute,
then youll time it as 72 per minute aboard a moving bus. But if you are sitting down on the
bus as it travels along a road at 5 m s1, you could say your speed is zero relative to the bus
(vpersonbus = 0 m s1), and the speed of the bus relative to the Earth (vbusEarth) = 5 m s1. Your

speed relative to the Earth (vpersonEarth) would then also be 5 m s1. However, if you walk
inside a bus towards the front with a speed of 1 m s1, and the bus moves at 5 m s1 with
respect to the Earth, then your speed is 6 m s1 with respect to the Earth. (See Figure 30.3.)
Figure 30.3 vBus = 5 m s1

At ordinary speeds, the addition
of relative velocities is quite
straightforward.
v = 1 m s1
person has moved this far relative to earth

vpersonearth = 6 m s1
Mathematically we can set this out using the Newtonian relativity equation as:
v personEarth = v personbus + v busEarth

6 m s 1 = 1 m s 1 + 5 m s 1
You may be more familiar with the equation in the following form where the Earth is the
assumed frame of reference and left out of the subscripts. The answer is the same.
v ab = v a v b
v personbus = v person v bus
v person = v personbus + v bus
= 1 m s 1 + 5 m s 1
= 6 m s 1
A c t i v i t y 3 0 . 2 W H O S R E A L LY M OV I N G ?
Next time you are on a bus or car that is moving, try this thought experiment. Imagine
that you are stationary and its the Earth that is moving. If so, why do your wheels turn?
And why do the wheels of cars beside you turn? It might seem dumb but this is the very
same question Einstein pondered 100 years ago. He called it a Gedanken experiment
(Gedanken is German for thought).
T H E N AT U R E O F L I G H T 30.3
As you may have seen in earlier chapters, changing magnetic fields produce electricity; con-
versely, changing electric fields produce magnetism. In the mid-nineteenth century, the great
Can a shadow travel faster than Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell deduced that as each field could create the other a
light? In the late afternoon, wondrous new phenomena would result. You get the idea: once a changing field of one type
shadows are long and when you appears, self-perpetuating systems of electric and magnetic fields take on an independent
stand up your shadow shoots existence, no longer associated with what started them, and would propagate through space
out along the ground much
as an electromagnetic wave. Maxwell explored the properties of these waves theoretically and
faster than you rose up well
calculated their speed as 3.00 108 m s1, and equal to the speed of light. The symbol c was
over twice as fast. If you could
fire a projectile upwards at 0.8c
chosen to represent the speed of light. It was the initial letter in the Latin word celeritas
late in the afternoon then its meaning swiftness (as in accelerate). That speed had been solidly established to an accu-
shadow would scoot across the racy of a few per cent. So there was no doubt that the speed of Maxwells electromagnetic
ground at 1.6c. What is the waves was the speed of light and his brilliant conclusion was inescapable: light is an electro-
problem here? magnetic wave.

However, a question arose: in which frame of reference did light have this speed? It was
thought that light would have a different speed in different frames of reference. For example,
if a rocket ship was leaving Earth at half the speed of light (0.5c) and shone a beam of light
forward at 1.0c relative to the spaceship, then the speed of light relative to observers on
Earth would be 1.5c:
v lightEarth = v lightrocket + v rocketEarth

1.5c = 1.0c + 0.5c
Likewise, when you drive along a road with your headlights on, the light should travel
more quickly than if your car was stationary. Something should start to sound a bit odd by
now. Light just doesnt do these things!
Maxwells equations made no provision for a frame of reference. They just said that the
speed of light was c (3.00 108 m s1). So physicists thought there must be some special
frame of reference where light had this value, and this frame would be the absolute frame by
which all other things could be measured. This was a problem for physicists at the beginning
of the twentieth century.
Measuring the speed of light

Early attempts to measure the speed of light failed because light moves so quickly. Galileo
attempted to measure the speed of light in the early part of the seventeenth century by
measuring the time lag between one observer turning on a lamp and another observer noting
this and turning on a second lamp on a distant hill several kilometres away. The method failed
since the reaction time of the observers exceeded the time (105 s) that it took the light to
travel the distance.
The Danish astronomer Olaus Rmer made the first real measurement of the speed of light
by using astronomical rather than terrestrial distances (Figure 30.4). By studying eclipses of
the moons of Jupiter he was able to measure the speed of light as 2.26 108 m s1 about
75% of the value accepted today. Modern technology has enabled scientists to use Rmers
method and obtain a value of 3.0 108 m s1 for the speed of light. Albert Michelson, a
Prussian-born American physicist, used rotating mirrors in 1926, and by reflecting light
between two mountains 35.4 km apart, he was able to measure the speed of light as 2.997
96 108 m s1.
Figure 30.4
Earth Rmers method of measuring
the speed of light gave the first reliable
B value. The eclipse of Jupiters moon Io
occurs 16.6 minutes later than expected
Jupiter when seen from position C. This is the
C A time it takes light to travel the diameter
of the Earths orbit A to C.
Io
Sun
The accepted value for the speed of light is now 2.997 925 108 m s1 but for the
purposes of simple calculations in this book we shall take the value to be 3.0 108 m s1. This
is a distance of 300 000 km every second, about seven and a half times around the equator
of the Earth. It takes about 5 microseconds for light to travel from Brisbane to Cairns.

A c t i v i t y 3 0 . 3 I S L I G H T S L OW I N G D OW N ?
Use your library, CD-ROM or whatever means you can, to find out about and report on one
of the following:
1 Some people believe that the speed of light is slowing down. Is there any
evidence for this from published historical data or is it just that accuracy has
been improving over the years? Use data to support your case.
2 Other people besides Rmer and Michelson have tried to measure the speed of
light. Report on one of these attempts, using drawings to illustrate how the
process worked.
ABSOLUTE FRAMES OF REFERENCE 30.4

Nineteenth-century physicists were familiar with the properties of water waves, sound waves
and waves on springs. These waves all needed some medium for their propagation, be it
water, air or steel. There was no reason to think that Maxwells electromagnetic waves should
be any different. They called this transparent medium the ether and assumed it permeated all
space. But dont think of this ether as the organic liquid used in chemistry. It came from the
Greek aithein meaning to burn, referring to the invisible vapour given off by fires. By ether
the physicists referred to some mysterious fluid that filled the universe. The medium for light
waves could not be air, since light travels from the Sun to Earth through nearly empty space.
It was therefore presumed that the velocity of light given by Maxwells equations must
be with respect to this ether. Scientists soon set out to determine the speed of the Earth
relative to this absolute frame, whatever it might be.
MichelsonMorley experiment
Photo 30.2 In 1887, two American scientists, A. A. Michelson (18521931) and E. W. Morley (18381923),
The American physicist A. A. Michelson
refuted the ether wind theory.
were concerned that there was no experimental proof of the ether, which was supposed to be
the absolute frame of reference for light. They argued that as the Earth moves around the Sun,
it should be moving through an ether wind. If there was an ether, and a beam of light was
shone in the same direction as the Earths movement through it, the velocity of light would
be measured as greater compared to light travelling at right angles to the direction of motion
of the Earth through the ether. Similarly, if light was shone in the opposite direction to the
Earths movement through the ether, the velocity should be measured as smaller. That seems
logical!
However, light travels so rapidly that direct measurement of its speed was not possible
at the time. But they were able to use an interferometer to measure the difference in the
speed of light travelling with, against or across the ether. The path diagram for the interfer-
ometer is shown in Figure 30.5. It was a huge instrument consisting of a source of coherent
Figure 30.5 (single-wavelength) light and some mirrors on a platform screwed to a massive stone block
Light path in the MichelsonMorley
experiment. floating in a pool of mercury so that it could be rotated. This idea comes from lighthouses
which also had their rotating lights floating in mercury. In fact, we have some mercury at
mirror
school which came from the Cape Moreton lighthouse when the old light was removed.
M2 Light was shone from the position marked source where it struck a half-silvered mirror.
screen
(This is just a mirror with a half-thickness layer of silver over the whole of the glass so that
mirror
half the light gets reflected and half passes through.) The reflected beam travelled to mirror
M1
half-silvered
M1, bounced off and travelled back to the half-silvered mirror where a lot of it passed through
mirror
and onto a screen, shown at the right-hand side of Figure 30.5. The other half of the beam
from the source initially passed straight through the first mirror where it struck mirror M2. It
granite slab also reflected back to the half-silvered mirror where a lot of it was reflected onto the screen.

The positions of mirrors M1 and M2 could be adjusted somewhat so that the path lengths for
both beams from the source to the screen were equal (about 11 m). This meant constructive
interference would occur and you would get a nice strong image on the screen. If the speed
of light was different as it travelled the two paths, there would be a slight time delay in one
of the beams and the constructive interference would be upset; the waves would be slightly
out of phase and you would get a dimmer image (called a fringe shift). They tried everything.
They rotated it left and right; they did it morning and afternoon, in summer and in winter,
yet there was no fringe shift.
Trying to explain this null result was going to be difficult for physicists. Some suggested
that the ether was really there but it was at rest with respect to the Earth because it
was dragged along with the Earth; in this case the fringe shift would be zero. But this was
quickly dismissed as fanciful nonsense after some experiments with high-flying balloons were
undertaken.
In the 1890s, physicists G. F. Fitzgerald and H. A Lorentz argued that any length
including the stone slab on which the MichelsonMorley interferometer sat would contract
by a factor 1 v2/c2 in the direction of motion through the ether. This sounds like they just
made it up to explain the null result, but Lorentz argued that the contraction known as
the Fitzgerald Contraction could happen because the atoms moved closer together as a
result of the ether upsetting the electrical interatomic forces. It was a good start, but more
justification for his hypothesis was required.
In 1893 Michelson became head of the physics department of the University of Chicago.
Later, in 1920, he did research work at the California Institute of Technology and the
Mt Wilson Observatory and in 1907 he was awarded the Nobel prize for physics for his work
on optical instruments and spectroscopic and meteorological investigations. He was the first
American citizen to win this prize.
All of the theories attempting to explain the MichelsonMorley null result were
eventually replaced by the far more comprehensive theory proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905
the special theory of relativity.
30.5 T H E S P E C I A L T H E O RY O F R E L AT I V I T Y
Einstein was eight years old when Michelson and Morley carried out their famous 1887 exper-
iment. By 1905 he was a young father 26 years old, devoted to his family, to his work at the
Swiss Patent Office, and to his physics. In this year he produced six scientific papers, all of
which stood out as seminal works in the history of physics. The first one was on quantum
mechanics, for which he received the 1921 Nobel prize. The second and third papers were on
the size of molecules, for which he received his PhD at the Zurich Polytechnic. The fourth
paper introduced the world to the famous formula E = mc2, and the fifth paper dealt with
relativity. It was stunning in its simplicity and ingenious, penetrating insight. It resolved
completely the contradictions posed by Michelson and Morley.
What motivated Einstein for this paper were what he called Gedanken (thinking) exper-
iments like If I rode on a light beam, what would I see? Would I see light with a speed of
zero? He concluded that absolute space doesnt exist. Einsteins resolution was radical but
profoundly simple. It can be stated in one brief sentence, called the Principle of Relativity:
The laws of physics are the same in all uniformly moving reference frames.
Thats it! One sentence implying all of Einsteins special theory of relativity. Historically,
Einstein presented two postulates. The second one asserted that the speed of light is the
same in uniformly moving reference frames. A more modern approach shows that the second
postulate follows from the first and, in fact, by 1910 physicists had shown rigorously that the
second postulate is superfluous.

Figure 30.6 In the following section we will examine some interesting consequences of Einsteins
The motion of light when you are at rest.
theory, particularly the invariance (no variation) in the speed of light, even for observers
who are moving relative to each other and thats so troubling that it will lead to a radical
mirror
revision of your commonsense notions of space and time. Students get particularly unsettled
when commonsense appears to be thrown out the window. But remember, science is not
about commonsense; most of the major developments in science appear to be intuitively
wrong at first (for example, the Earth revolves around the Sun). As Nobel laureate Richard
Feynman said, We never really understand physics, we just get used to it. So, get used to the
following!
Activity 30.4 ANOTHER GEDANKEN EXPERIMENT

Figure 30.7 When Einstein was a boy he wondered about the following question: a runner holds a
Face and mirror moving at speed c. mirror at arms length in front of his face. Can he see himself in the mirror if he runs at
Can you see yourself now?
the speed of light?
mirror
When you look at yourself in a mirror, light travels from your face to the mirror and then
is reflected back to your eyes (Figure 30.6). Einstein wondered how light could ever get
from your face to the mirror if the mirror is travelling away from the light beam at the
speed of light. (Figure 30.7.) The light would never catch up to the
mirror! He soon realised the flaw in the logic. Can you? Propose your reasons.
running
T H E M E A N I N G O F S I M U LTA N E O U S 30.6
Imagine that at your school there are two bells, one at each end of the school. You hear both
bells sound at the same time. But could there be a situation where an observer hears one bell
before the other? In other words, can an event (sounding of the bells) be simultaneous to one
observer but not to the other?
What does simultaneous mean? Two events are simultaneous if they occur at the same
time. But how can you tell if two bells rang at the same time? If the bells were side by side
there would be no problem; but when events are separated in space it gets difficult. If you
were midway between the two bells and you heard them ring at the same time, you could say
they were simultaneous. But what if you were closer to one bell than the other? If you still
Figure 30.8 heard them at the same time, the more distant one must have sounded first because the
A moment after street lights turn on at sound had to travel further to your ears.
A and B, light waves travel outwards. Does this apply to light as well? Say you were looking out your window at dusk and two
If they arrive at observer O at the same
time, she can say they are simultaneous street lights came on at the same time. You would say the events were simultaneous if
because she is midway between the you were midway between them (Figure 30.8). If you were not midway you would have to
two lights. calculate the time it took to get from each event to your position so that you could work out
when the events actually occurred. If both lights appeared to turn on at the same time
but one was closer to you than the other, the closer one must have occurred after the more
distant one. They were not simultaneous. Simultaneity can be defined thus: Two events are
simultaneous if light signals from the events reach an observer who is midway between
A O B them at the same time. So the logic is the same for light as it was for sound.
The relativity of simultaneity

To show that two events that are simultaneous in a frame S are not simultaneous in another
frame S moving relative to S, we will use an example introduced by Einstein.
Imagine a train moving past an observer sitting on an embankment at the side of the
track. The train is the moving frame of reference and the embankment is the stationary frame.

Imagine that in the centre of the train carriage there is a person holding a device that can
send out a beam of light in the forward direction and at the same time a beam of light in the
backward direction (Figure 30.9). Also imagine that the front door and back door are opened
automatically by these light beams.
Figure 30.9
The train with the light pulse device.
embankment
light pulse device
To the person holding the device, the doors of the carriage will open simultaneously
(Figure 30.10(a)). But to a person on the embankment, the back door will open before the
front door (Figure 30.10(b)). This is because the stationary observer sees the back door move
forward to meet the light pulse while the front door moves away from the light pulse. So the
light gets to the back door before the other light can get to the front door.
Hence, the opening of the doors may be simultaneous to one observer (on the train) but
(a) (b)
(a) Motion of the light pulse as seen by
an observer inside the train;
(b) motion of the light pulse as seen by
the observer on the embankment it
gets to the rear door first.
not simultaneous to another (on the embankment). Students often say, Who is right? Do the
doors really open together or not? The answer is, Both are right. It depends on your frame
of reference. Remember, there is no best frame of reference; some are just more useful than
others. You, as an observer, will decide which is the most useful frame.
30.7 T H E VA R I A B I L I T Y O F T I M E
We usually think of time marching on, oblivious to anything we may be doing. Although
you may think time drags when you are doing something boring and goes fast when youre
having fun, this is not time in a technical sense, only psychological time.
Were now going to convince you that the time interval between two events cannot be the
same for two observers in motion with respect to each other. Imagine a bus that has a light
source on the floor and a mirror directly above on the ceiling. A brief flash leaves the source
and travels upwards to hit the mirror, reflect and return to the source (Figure 30.11(a)).
Consider how this looks to an observer sitting at a bus stop at the side of the road. The
flash occurs when the bus is located to the left, strikes the ceiling mirror when it is in the
centremost position, and returns to the source when the bus is towards the right (Figure
30.11(b)).
The labelling of the diagram is as follows. The distance from the source to the ceiling
mirror is D. To the roadside observer the bus is travelling to the right at velocity v, and moves
a distance L in the time between the flash and the light striking the ceiling. The bus moves
another distance L by the time the light goes from the mirror back to the source. This makes
the total distance moved by the bus equal to 2L. Light, of course, travels at a speed c for both
observers (Einsteins second postulate).

(a) mirror on ceiling

Figure 30.11
(a) Path of light as viewed by the
observer aboard the bus; (b) path
of light as viewed by the observer light D
motion
at the bus-stop the path looks source
much longer; (c) derivation of
Einsteins formula. receiver
(b) motion
L L
(c) ct ct
2 2
ct0
D=
2
vt vt
L= L=
2 2
To the observer aboard the bus, the light travels a distance of 2D (up plus down) in a
time t0. This time is called proper time because the start and finish occur in the same place
in space. Using our velocity formula v = s/t, t = s/v, hence t0 = 2D/c. When rearranged, the
distance D = ct0/2.
To the observer at the bus stop, the light has travelled a triangular path in time t (t with
no subscript, as distinct from proper time, t0). As the speed of light is the same for both
observers, the light actually travelled a longer path from the observer at the bus stops view-
point, so it must have taken a longer time. This is called relativistic time or dilated time
(Latin dilatare = to spread out), that is, to bring them away from each other or make them
bigger. Dilated time is the time between two events that occur in two different places in
space; in this case the two events (the flash leaving the source and the flash arriving back at
the source) are separated by a distance of 2L.
Looking at Figure 30.11(c), the total distance travelled by the light is calculated by using
the formula v = s/t, or s = vt. In this case, the distance travelled by the light will be ct. In
the diagram the length of the hypotenuse will equal ct/2. The time taken (t) for the bus to
go from start to finish will be given by t = 2L/v, hence L = vt/2 (the base of each triangle).
Using Pythagorass theorem on one of the right-angled triangles:
2 2 2
ct ct 0 vt
= +
2 2 2
(ct) 2 = (ct 0) 2 + (vt) 2
v2 2
t 2 = t 02 + t
c2
v2 2
t 02 = t 2 t
c2

v2
= t2 1 2
c
t 02
t2 =
v2
1
c2

Take square roots of both sides:
t0
t=
1 v 2/c 2
Because v is always less than c, the value of 1 v2/c2 must always be less than 1, so
we see that t > to. That is, the time between the two events (the sending of the light, and its
arrival at the receiver) is greater for the Earth observer than for the travelling observer. This
is a general result of the theory of relativity, and is known as time dilation. Sometimes this
is stated simply as moving clocks are measured to run slow, but most physicists hate this
catchphrase. They say it is utterly meaningless, or worse, since it applies an absoluteness to
motion. They prefer the better, but wordier, description of time dilation:
The time between two events is shortest when measured in a reference frame where
the two events occur in the same place.
If you want to learn this as moving clocks run slow, just remember that you are refer-
ring to clocks moving with respect to you. The clocks will be stationary to someone moving
along with the clock that is, to someone in the same reference frame as the clock. Moving
is relative! Time really does appear to pass more slowly in a frame of reference moving with
respect to you. For example, you could measure the time between two events in a frame
moving relative to you as taking 3 seconds. To someone stationary with respect to the clocks,
the time between the events may be 2 seconds. They say 2, you say 3, and that seems longer
to you. This sounds amazing and is the inevitable outcome of the two postulates of the
theory of relativity. Students often ask, But is it really true? or does it just appear to be true.
All we can say is that it does not violate the laws of physics and that it has been confirmed
by many experiments, so it can be called a fact. However, like all facts in science, they can
be replaced if better theories and experiments come along. For now, special relativity works
beautifully well, but one day, when youre older
We know that the concept of time dilation is hard to accept, for it violates commonsense.
We can see from the equation that the time dilation effect is negligible unless v is reasonably
close to c. Table 30.1 shows the ratio of v/c (called the speed factor ) for different speeds,
and the ratio of t/to (called the Lorentz factor , after the Dutch physicist H. A. Lorentz who
developed the formula before Einstein but didnt realise its significance).
Ta b l e 3 0 . 1 R E L AT I V I S T I C E F F E C T S
SPEED = v/c = t /to
Car at 60 km h1 0.0000 1.000 000
Jet at 8000 km h1 0.000 006 8 1.000 000
1 GeV electron 0.999 999 88 2000
20 GeV electron 0.999 999 999 67 40 000
Light pulse 1.000 infinite
Table 30.1 shows that at ordinary speeds (e.g. the car), relativistic effects are negligible,
but at speeds approaching the speed of light, the effects are dramatic. An experimenter
working with 1 MeV electrons travelling at 0.94 times the speed of light (0.94c) would have
to realise that 1 second of time in the electrons frame of reference is the same as 2.9
seconds of time in the laboratory frame of reference. Imagine that the electron spun once on
its own axis every second when viewed from a frame of reference stationary to the electron
(that is, if you rode along with the electron). To an observer in the laboratory, the electron
would take 2.9 seconds to spin once. The electrons clock appears to run slow.

Thousands of experiments have confirmed the theory of relativity. For example, in 1971
extremely accurate clocks were flown around the world on commercial aircraft, and when they
were compared to the clocks left back in the laboratory a time dilation effect was confirmed.
One of the most famous natural confirmations of relativity is in the 1960s measurement of
the lifetime of the unstable elementary particle known as a muon. Muons rest lifetime (that
is, their lifetime as measured by someone at rest to them) is 2.2 microseconds. When they are
created in the upper atmosphere by cosmic rays from the Sun (at an altitude of about 5 km)
they travel towards Earth at close to the speed of light. Calculations using classical mechanics
show that they would be expected to travel 2.2 106 3 108 = 660 m before decaying.
However, we observe them on the Earths surface, so their lifetime is longer than expected
and in full agreement with the relativity formulas.
Which clock is moving?

The thing that confuses students most of all in this work is defining which is the moving
clock and which is the stationary clock. Einstein said that motion is relative so you could say
either is stationary. So which is t and which is t0 in the formula?
It all depends on what event you are timing. Imagine that you are timing a rocket flight
to the moon. There is a clock aboard the rocket for the space travellers and there are
synchronised clocks on the Earth and on the Moon. The two events take-off and landing
are measured by the space travellers with a single clock aboard the spacecraft but the
observers on Earth need two clocks for their timing one on Earth to register the time of
take-off and one on the Moon to register the time of landing. We say that the space travellers
have measured proper time, t0, because the two events were measured in the one place by
one clock at rest with respect to both events. The people on Earth measured dilated time, t,
or relativistic time. Dilated time is longer than proper time.
Example
What will be the mean lifetime of a pion (an elementary particle) as measured in the
laboratory if it is travelling 0.669c with respect to the laboratory? Its mean lifetime at rest is
3.5 108 s.
Solution
If an observer were to move along with the pion (the pion would be at rest to this observer),
the pion would have a mean life of 3.5 108 s. This is proper time, t0, and for elementary
particles is sometimes called the rest life. To an observer in the laboratory, the pion lives
longer because of time dilation:
t0
t=
1 v 2/c 2
3.5 10 8 s 3.5 10 8
= = = 4.71 10 8 s
1 (0.669) 2 0.743
Space and time units

A light-year (ly) is the distance travelled by light in one year. Numerically it is equal to
3 108 60 60 24 365 or 9.5 1015 m. The distance to the red star Betelgeuse in the
constellation Orion is 650 ly while our Sun is only 500 light-seconds away from us.
Space travel
If time dilation means that time slows down, it could be possible to live long enough to
travel to distant parts of the universe. For example, say you wanted to travel to the star Rigel
which is 800 light-years away. If you could travel at close to the speed of light as measured

by someone on Earth, it would take about 800 years as measured by Earth observers for you
to return. The original observers would all be dead by then. Lets say your speed was 0.999c.
Then the time (t0) for such a trip, as measured by the astronauts, could be calculated: N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
You want to get to a star 100
t = t0 light-years away and have
1 v2/c2 calculated you could do it in
4.5 years if you travelled at
t 0 = t 1 v2/c2 = 800 1 0.9992 = 35.8 years
0.999c. The problem is that
the human body cant stand
Thus you could make the trip and get back to Earth within your lifetime. Students often accelerations greater than 5 g.
ask: Is it just the clocks aboard the spacecraft that slow down? The answer is that everything How much time, as measured by
slows down all life processes slow down and the astronauts would experience 35.8 years an Earth observer, would it take
of normal sleeping, eating, working and so on. you to reach 0.999c from rest at
an acceleration of 5 g? This
next question may be too hard:
Questions estimate how much time it
would take in the spacecrafts
1 How fast must a pion be travelling if its rest life is 2.6 108 s but to a frame of reference.
laboratory observer it appears to live for 3.1 108 s?
2 A beam of a certain type of elementary particle travels at a speed of
2.85 108 m s1. At this speed, the average lifetime is measured to be
2.50 108 s. What is the particles lifetime at rest?
30.8 CONTRACTION OF LENGTH

There was a young man named Fisk,
whose fencing was exceedingly brisk.
So fast was his action, the Fitzgerald Contraction,
reduced his rapier to a disk.
In a previous example, you saw that a spaceship can travel a distance of 800 light-years in
35.8 years. You may wonder how it can do this in such a short time if nothing can go faster
than light, and even it takes 800 years to get there. The answer is that, although time gets
stretched in different reference frames, length gets squeezed. This is called contraction of
length. An example involving a rocket departing Earth for the star Rigel may help.
The EarthRigel frame of reference

Imagine that an observer on Earth watches a rocket take off for the star Rigel at a speed of
v. Both the astronauts and the Earth observer will agree on the speed of the rocket. The Earth
and Rigel are at rest to one another so they form a single frame of reference. The distance
between Earth and Rigel is 800 light-years and has the symbol L0. This is called the rest
length or proper length (hence the subscript 0) because it is the length measured by an
observer at rest to both the Earth and Rigel.
L0 Figure 30.12
As viewed from Earth, the
rocket is the moving frame.
Earth v
Rigel
The time taken for the journey according to Earth or Rigel observers is dilated time (t),
because the departure and arrival events are separated in space and require two separate
clocks for its measurement.

The spaceship frame of reference

Figure 30.13 shows the journey from Earth to Rigel from the astronauts perspective. They can
picture themselves as being stationary and assume the Earths is rushing away from them
and Rigel approaching them. This frame is moving with respect to the astronauts, so they
measure the distance between the Earth and Rigel as the contracted or relativistic length L.
The time taken for the journey as measured by the astronauts is t0 (proper time), because
they are measuring the departure and arrival events in the same place in space (inside their
rocket ship) and can use one clock to do this. The space travellers measure t0, the proper
time, because the take-off and landing occur at the same place in space for them. Only one
clock is needed.
The space travellers and the Earth observers do, however, agree on the relative velocity
(v) between the two frames of reference.
L0
Figure 30.13
As viewed from the rocket,
EarthRigel is the moving frame.
Either way, the distance is L0. v v
Earth
Rigel
Relationships between the frames

The time for the journey is t for the Earth observers and t0 for the astronauts. The distance is
L0 for the Earth observers and L for the astronauts. They both agree on the velocity of
the spaceship as v. As we agree that the relationship between t and t0 is given by:
t0 = t 1 v2/c2 , the time measured by the astronauts (t0) is less than that measured by Earth
observers (t), hence t0 < t. But as they agree on the velocity of the spaceship (v), the
distance travelled by the astronauts must also be less than that measured by the Earth
observers. In other words, L < L0. We now have two relationships: v = L0/t = L/t0. If we
rearrange the second part we get L = vt0 and if we replace the t0 with the earlier equation we
get this:
L = v t 0 = v t 1 v2/c2 = L 0 1 v2/c2
That is:
L = L 0 1 v 2/c 2
Ta b l e 3 0 . 2 R E L AT I O N S H I P B E T W E E N T H E F R A M E S
FRAME OF REFERENCE EARTHRIGEL SPACECRAFT
Time for journey t t0
Distance travelled L0 L
Velocity v v
L L
Summary of relationships for space travel (Table 30.2): v = = 0.
t0 t
This length contraction applies not only to distances between heavenly bodies but also
between atoms so objects shrink as they speed up. But this contraction occurs only along
the direction of motion. For example, if a car travelled forwards at high speed, it would appear
to shrink in length (from say 4 m to 2 m) but its height would remain the same at 1.5 m and
its width the same at 2 m. If you could run as fast, your height would remain the same but
youd get thinner but stay just as broad.

A spaceship passes you at a speed of 0.80c. You measure its length to be 90 m. What length
would it be to observers aboard the spaceship? Imagine you have slid into a
parallel universe in which the
Solution year is 1840. A US Marshall is
v = 0.80c. travelling by in a train at 0.75c
relativistic length L = 90 m. and approaches two gunslingers
proper length, L0 = ? about to have a duel. The
gunslingers are both the same
distance from the railway line.
L = L 0 (1 v2/c2)
Gunslinger A is closer to the
Marshall.
L0 = L = 90 = 90 = 150 m
If the Marshall sees both men
(1 v2/c2) 1 0.82) 0.6
draw their guns at the same
time, who actually drew first in
Example 2 (a) the Marshalls frame of
reference;
A certain star is 36 light-years away. How many years would it take a spacecraft travelling at
(b) the gunslingers frame of
0.98c to reach that star from Earth as measured by observers (a) on Earth; (b) on the space-
reference?
craft? (c) What is the distance travelled according to observers on the spacecraft?
(d) What will the spacecraft occupants compute their speed to be from the results of (b) and
(c)?
Solution
v = 0.98c; distance between stars and planets is proper length, L0 = 36 ly.
(a) Observers on Earth measure dilated time, t: N OV E L C H A L L E N G E
L0 L 36 ly A physicist driving a very fast

v= or t = 0 = = 36.73 y sports car is booked by police
t v 0.98c
for travelling through a red
traffic light. The physicist
Note: when a distance in light-years (ly) is divided by a speed in units of c, the argues that because he was
answer is time in years (y). travelling fast wih respect to
(b) Space travellers measure proper time, t0: the light, the colour of the light
had its wavelength altered and
t 0 = t 1 v2/c2 = 36.73 1 0.982 = 7.31 y appeared green to him. The
judge said that he would let him
off the charge of running a red
(c) Space travellers measure relativistic length, L = v t0 = 0.98c 7.31 y = 7.16 ly. light but would fine him 1 cent
Alternatively: L = L0 (1 v2/c2) = 36 ly (1 0.982) = 7.16 ly. for every m/s he was travelling
over 100 km/h.
L 7.16 ly
(d) v = = = 0.98c (same as for Earth observer). How much was he fined?
t0 7.31 y
Note: the frequency of red light
is 4.5 1014 Hz and green light,
6.0 1014 Hz. The transverse
Questions frequency
vshift formula
1 c
3 Convert (a) 1.8 107 m s1 to units of c; (b) 0.95c to m s1; (c) 30 ly to km; f0 = f , is where f0 = the
1+ vc
(d) 3 1015 km to ly. frequency of the light with
4 An aeroplane whose rest length is 40.0 m is moving at a uniform velocity with respect to an observer in the
respect to Earth at a speed of 630 m s1. Calculate the length of the aircraft as frame of reference of the source
measured from the Earth. (i.e. the police).
5 Suppose you decide to travel to a star 85 light-years away. How fast would you
have to travel so the distance would only be 20 light-years to you?
6 After the Sun, the nearest star visible to the naked eye is Rigel Centaurus,
which is 4.35 light-years away. If a spacecraft was sent there from Earth at a
speed of 0.80c, how many years would it take to reach that star from Earth as
measured by observers (a) on Earth; (b) on the spacecraft? (c) What is the
distance travelled according to observers on the spacecraft?

T H E T W I N PA R A D O X 30.9
Not long after Einstein proposed the special theory of relativity, an apparent paradox was
pointed out. According to this twin paradox, suppose one of a pair of 25-year-old twins takes
off in a spaceship travelling at very high speed to a distant star and back again, while the
other twin remains on Earth. When the travelling twin returns they have aged differently
according to the concept of time dilation (Figure 30.14). The question is: who has aged more?
In the examples below well assume the travelling twin had an average speed of 0.80c for the
journey and had aged 30 years aboard the spacecraft before returning.
Figure 30.14
The twin paradox how we can
age at different rates.
2 Travels at high speed

1 One twin departs
3 Returns to Earth
4 Travelling twin is younger
Scenario 1: Earths reference frame

According to the Earth twin, the travelling twin will age less.
Proper time (aboard spacecraft): t0 = 30 years.
Velocity: v = 0.8c.
Dilated time:
t0 30
t= = = 50 years
1 v /c
2 2 1 0.82
Hence, the time elapsed on Earth is 50 years; this is how much the Earth twin will have aged.
The travelling twin will be 55 years old (25 + 30) whereas the Earth twin will be 75 years old
(25 + 50).
Scenario 2: spaceships reference frame

Since everything is relative, all inertial reference frames are equally good. The travelling twin
could make all the claims the Earth twin does, only in reverse. The travelling twin could claim
that since the Earth is moving away at high speed, time passes more slowly on Earth and the
twin on Earth will age less. In this case, proper time will be that as measured aboard the
moving Earth (30 years) and dilated time will be measured by the stationary spacecraft
(50 years). This is the opposite of what the Earth twin says. They both cant be right, can
they? When the spacecraft returns to Earth they can stand beside one another and compare
ages and clocks. Only one of the above scenarios will be correct but which one?

Resolution Photo 30.3

The Andromeda galaxy is 100
light-years away but astronauts
The problem can be resolved by deciding who is travelling with uniform motion. The travel- would age only 20 years (in
ling twin must change velocity at the beginning and end of the trip and also when turning their time) if they travelled at
around out in space, so he must be really moving, even if these acceleration periods occupy 0.98c to get there. Andromeda
is the nearest major galaxy to
only a tiny portion of the total time. So the Earthbound twin measures proper length and the our own Milky Way galaxy, and
travelling twin measures the contracted (shortened) length. But as both twins agree on the our galaxy is thought to look
relative velocity, the travelling twin must measure a shorter time (to cover the shorter length) much like Andromeda. Together
these two galaxies dominate
and thus returns to Earth having aged less than the Earthbound twin. Even when the the local group of galaxies. The
acceleration periods are considered, Einsteins general theory of relativity, which deals with diffuse light from Andromeda is
accelerating reference frames, confirms this result. The ultimate judge, of course, is experi- caused by the hundreds of
billions of stars that compose
ment, and the 1971 experiment of precise clocks sent around the world in jet planes confirms it. The several distinct stars
that less time passes for the traveller. that surround Andromedas
image are actually stars in our
galaxy, and are well in front of
Time travel the background ob
There was a young man named White,

who wasnt exceedingly bright.
He went out one day in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.
The prospect of travelling into the past or into the future has always excited people.
However, it is always discounted as a non-scientific idea. But its not! It all depends on how
you look at events.
In the twin paradox, the space traveller arrived back on Earth as a 50-year-old to meet Jason Ware
his Earth twin who was 75 years old. The space traveller had travelled into his twins future.
You can travel into the future but once you are there, you cant go back.
Likewise, the Earth twin went into his travelling twins past to see the travelling twin at
age 50. You can travel into the past but only someone elses past.
30.10 R E L AT I V I S T I C A D D I T I O N O F V E L O C I T I E S
In the classical view of motion, velocities were vector quantities that could be added or sub-
tracted according to certain simple rules. In modern physics, this notion no longer holds.
Consider the following two cases.
C a s e 1 : A n t i - p a r a l l e l t r a ck s
Consider two rocket ships, both leaving Earth in opposite (anti-parallel) directions and both
travelling at 0.8c relative to the Earth (Figure 30.15).
Figure 30.15
Anti-parallel tracks means moving in
Earth opposite directions.
rocket B rocket A
v = 0.8c v = +0.8c
Anti-parallel tracks
The velocity of A relative to B can be calculated in the classical Newtonian method by:
v AB = v AE + v EB
Or, if rearranged, the relationship becomes:
v AB = v AE v BE

It can be simplified by assuming the velocities are with respect to the same stationary frame
of reference, in this case the Earth, and omitting the subscript E:
v AB = v A v B
(this is the basic formula for relative motion from Chapter 2.)
If we substitute the data from the current scenario:
v AB = 0.8c 0.8c = 1.6c
This is clearly wrong because no object can travel faster than the speed of light in any
reference frame.
Einsteins modification
Einstein showed that since length and time are different in different reference frames, the old
addition of velocities formula is no longer valid. Instead, the correct formula, he said, is:
vA vB
v AB =
1 v Av B/c 2
When applied to the current situation:
0.8c 0.8c
v AB = = 0.98c
(0.8c)(0.8c)
1
c2
which is less than the speed of light.
C a s e 2 : Pa r a l l e l t r a ck s
Consider rocket ship A, which travels away from the Earth with velocity vAE = 0.60c, and
assume that this rocket has fired off a second rocket, B, on a parallel track, which travels
at velocity vBA = 0.60c with respect to the first (Figure 30.16).
Figure 30.14
Parallel tracks means moving in vAE = 0.60c vBA = 0.60c
the same direction.
Earth A B
Parallel tracks
We might expect that the velocity vBE (or vB) of rocket B with respect to Earth can be
determined by:
v BA = +0.60c; hence v AB = 0.60c
Substituting into vAB = vA vB:
0.60c = 0.60c v B
v B = 1.20c
This is again clearly wrong because no object can travel faster than the speed of light in any
reference frame.

Using Einsteins relativistic addition of velocities formula:
vA vB
v AB =
1 v Av B/c 2
0.60c v B
0.60c =
(0.60c)(v B)
1
c2
v B = +0.88c
Questions
7 Spaceships A and B are approaching Earth at velocities of 0.75c and 0.50c
respectively. Calculate the velocity of A relative to B if the ships are on
(a) parallel tracks; (b) anti-parallel tracks.
8 The meteorite watch officer on a spaceship reports that two fast micrometeorites
are approaching the ship on parallel tracks (i.e. from the same direction), one at
a velocity of 0.90c and the other at 0.70c. What is the velocity of either of them
with respect to the other?
9 A radioactive lithium nucleus is travelling at 0.70c in an accelerator when it
emits a beta particle directly forward at a velocity of 0.80c relative to the
nucleus. What is the velocity of the beta particle relative to the laboratory frame
of reference?
30.11 MASS AND FORCE

In terms of Newtonian mechanics, if a rocket engine was used to propel a spacecraft through
frictionless space, then its speed would continue to increase forever. Newtons second law of
motion implies that as long as there is an unbalanced force, acceleration will continue
(F = ma). For example, if a 10 000 N force was applied to a 100 kg satellite, then its accel-
eration would be 100 m s2. To go from rest to the speed of light could be calculated thus:
a = v u or t = v u = 3 10 0 = 3 10 6 s (about 1 month)
8
t a 100
If the force was continued for another month then the speed would be twice that of light,
and so on. Clearly, this is wrong.
Mass increase
So far, weve seen that time and length are relative, but another relative quantity is mass. In
1909 physicist Hans Bucherer was investigating beta rays (electrons) being emitted by
radium. He found that they were being emitted at different velocities but the greater the
velocity, the greater the mass. He applied Einsteins relativistic mass formula and found good
agreement with the observations. The formula is:
m= m0
1 v2/c2
In applying this formula, Bucherer used the rest mass of the electron for m0. This is the
mass of the electron as measured by an observer at rest to the electron; that is, travelling
along with it. The symbol m is used for the relativistic mass; that is, in the frame in which
the electron is moving at a velocity v. In Bucherers experiment this was the laboratory.

Figure 30.17 From the formula it should be obvious that relativistic mass is always greater than rest
At a speed of c, mass would mass (m > m0). But what may not be as obvious is how mass increases with velocity. A plot
be infinite.
of the data produces a graph as shown in Figure 30.17. As velocity increases so does mass,
but it increases exponentially; hence, you need more and more force for the same increase in
velocity. As velocity approaches the speed of light, mass approaches infinity (as v c,
m ).
Example
Mass
The rest mass of a proton is 1.67 1027 kg. What is the mass of a proton travelling at
v = 0.865c?
Solution
Velocity c
= 1.67 10 kg = 1.67 10 kg = 3.34 10 27 kg

m0 27 27
m=
1 v2/c2 1 0.8652 0.50
(At a velocity of 0.865c, the mass of an object is double its rest mass.)
Questions
10 What is the mass of a neutral pi-meson (m0 = 2.4 1028 kg) travelling at a
velocity of 0.87c?
11 Escape velocity from the Earth is 40 000 km h1. What would be the increase in
mass of a 3.8 105 kg spacecraft travelling at that velocity?
The ultimate speed

Perhaps the most astonishing prediction to come out of the special theory of relativity is that
there is a certain velocity beyond which nothing can go. The contraction of length formula
suggests that, as the velocity of an object approaches c, its length approaches zero. This
means that at a speed equal to c the object would disappear. You cannot go faster than light.
You just cant! You cant even equal it. This is a fundamental result of the special theory of
relativity. The speed of light is a natural speed limit in the universe. As an object is acceler-
ated to greater and greater speeds, you are doing more work on it and giving it more kinetic
energy. This extra energy is converted to mass (E = mc2) so its mass becomes larger and larger
and, at a speed of c, mass would be infinite and this is impossible. However, Einsteins equa-
tions do not rule out the possibility that objects exist whose speed is always greater than c.
If such particles exist (the name tachyon Greek tachy = fast was proposed), the rest
mass mO would have to be imaginary; in this way the mass m would be the ratio of two imag-
inary numbers for v > c, which is real. Did you do that in maths? For such hypothetical parti-
cles, c would be a lower limit of their speed. In spite of extensive searches for tachyons, none
have been found. It seems that the speed of light is the ultimate speed in the universe.
MASS AND ENERGY 30.12

As you know from Newtons laws of motion, when a net force is applied to a body it acceler-
ates (F = ma) and so it gets faster. Since the force is acting over a distance, work is done on
the object (W = Fs) and its kinetic energy increases as well. In classical mechanics, the work
done on an object leads to an increase in speed and kinetic energy, but in relativistic
mechanics, the work done on an object also increases its mass.
Hence, the relativistic kinetic energy formula incorporates the notion of relativistic mass.
Einstein proposed the following formula:
E k = mc 2 m 0c 2

where m is the relativistic mass of an object travelling at speed v, and m0 is the rest mass of
the same object. Einstein called the first term (mc2) total relativistic energy (or Etot) and
the second term (m0c2) rest energy (or E0). Hence, kinetic energy is the difference between
total energy and rest energy:
E k = E tot E 0 or E tot = E k + E 0
This is a mathematical statement of the principle of conservation of massenergy: The

total energy (rest energy plus all other forms of energy) in a closed physical system is
a constant (and is equal to mc2). You can change rest mass into kinetic energy and vice versa.
In nuclear reactions or radioactive decay, kinetic energy is produced as mass is lost. In other
words, rest mass is converted to kinetic energy as the particles fly away from each other.
Einsteins formula E = mc2 is one of the most famous in science. If you know the change in
mass of an object, you can calculate how much energy this is equivalent to.
Example 1
(a) How much energy would be released if a pi-meson () of rest mass of 2.4 1028 kg
decayed and its entire rest mass was transformed completely into electromagnetic
radiation? (Hint: assume it is not moving and has no kinetic energy to contribute.)
(b) How much energy would be released if it was travelling at 0.8c when it decayed?
(Hint: consider the kinetic energy as well.)
Solution
(a) E = mc2 = 2.4 1028 (3 108)2 = 2.2 1011 J.
(b) The total energy is equal to its relativistic mass (m) times c2.
m= m0 = 2.4 1028 = 4.0 10 28 kg

1 v2/c2 1 0.802
E = mc 2 = 4.0 10 28 kg (3.0 10 8) 2 = 3.6 10 11 J
Note: you could also calculate the rest energy (m0c2 = 2.2 1011 J) and add it
to the Ek, which equals (m m0)c2 or 1.4 1011 J, giving a total the same as
above (3.6 1011 J).
Example 2
An electron (rest mass = 9.109 1031 kg) moves with a speed of 0.8c. (a) Calculate its
kinetic energy. (b) Compare this with the Newtonian kinetic energy.
Solution
(a) The mass of the electron at 0.8c is:
= 9.109 10 kg = 1.5 10 30 kg
m0 31
m=
1 v2/c2 1 0.82
Thus its kinetic energy is:
E k = mc 2 m 0c 2
= 1.5 10 30 (3 10 8) 2 9.109 10 31 (3 10 8) 2
= 5.30 10 14 J

(b) The Newtonian calculation would give:
E k = 21 mv 2 = 21 9.109 10 31 (0.8 3 10 8) 2
= 2.62 10 14 J
but this is not the correct formula.
Questions
12 Calculate the kinetic energy of a proton travelling 9.2 105 m s1. The rest mass
of a proton is 1.673 1027 kg.
13 What is the kinetic energy of an electron whose mass is 5.0 times its rest mass?
H OW R E A L I S R E L AT I V I T Y ? 30.13
Photo 30.4 Because of the complexity of modern scientific theories, an adage has developed among
Global positioning system: a hand-held physicists: You never really understand new theories you just get used to them. This is
unit worth about $300. The one shown true of special relativity. Try explaining relativity to someone who knows nothing about it and
here is the Magellan GPS 310, which can
get a precision fix on a location by youll soon find out that people are quite sceptical. But relativity is included in all sorts
tracking up to twelve GPS satellites of applications these days. When NASA began the Apollo program in the 1960s, they had to
simultaneously, and to an accuracy of figure-in relativity to get their spacecraft trajectories right. Relativity theory works it is
15 m or better.
used. It is essential in modern technology.
A c t i v i t y 3 0 . 5 N AV I G AT I O N S AT E L L I T E S
In modern long-range navigation, the precise location and speed of a moving craft are
continuously monitored and updated. With a modern system of navigation satellites
called NAVSTAR, the location and speed anywhere on Earth can be determined to within
about 15 m and 2 cm s1. However, if relativity effects were not taken into account, the
accuracy would be unacceptable to modern navigation systems.
1 Suggest how you would find out if relativity effects are taken into account with
the more common global positioning system (GPS) satellite used by small boats
and outback adventurers. What would you ask?
2 If you have time, carry out your suggestion, and report back to your class.
Hint: write, phone, look up a GPS manual or use one of the Internet newsgroups.
G E N E R A L R E L AT I V I T Y 30.14
Since special relativity requires all objects and particles to be limited by the speed of light,
all forces and interactions must also travel at or below the speed of light. Newtons gravita-
tional theory is in contradiction with this principle because it states that the gravitational
force acts instantaneously. Einstein spent many years attempting to create a gravitational
theory that would not require forces to act faster than light. Unlike special relativity, his the-
ory of general relativity developed in 1915 allows for a simple treatment of objects
moving with non-uniform (accelerated) motion. But like special relativity it begins with
another of his simple postulates: Inertial mass and gravitational mass are the same. This is
called the principle of equivalence. It may not seem to be very profound, as we have never
questioned the difference. Let us investigate. You may like to review pages 78 and 79 first.

In Newtons theory, two kinds of mass appear:

Fnet
(a) inertial mass from his second law of motion: Fnet = m a or a =
minertial
(b) gravitational mass from his law of gravity where the force between objects of
masses M and m separated by a distance r is F = GMm/r2, where G = the universal
gravitational constant. Taking m to be an object near the Earths surface, with M
and r being the Earths mass and radius, the force on m is:
GMEarth
Fgravitational = m = 9.8 m s2 mgravitational
rEarth2
In Newtons theory there is no physical reason why these masses should be related to each
other. Why should the pull of gravity on an object be related to the reluctance of an object
to accelerate when a net force is applied? Consider what happens if you drop an object from
shoulder height. The only force acting on the object is supplied by gravity and hence the net
force Fnet is Fgravitational. The acceleration is given by a = Fnet/mi and when the equation for
Fnet is substituted into it, the acceleration is given by a = 9.8 mg/mi. If mg and mi were Figure 30.18
Einsteins elevator thought experiment.
different, the acceleration of an object under the influence of gravity would depend on the A stationary observer near Earth
inertial mass and thus fall differently. We know this is not true. In fact, the inertial and experiences similar forces to a person
gravitational masses are equal in value to a very high precision (1 part in 1012), and this is accelerating in a rocket in free space,
where gravitational influences are
an astonishing mystery in Newtons theory that begs to be explained. almost zero.
In characteristic fashion, Einstein hypothesised that these two kinds of mass are, in fact,
one and the same and he sought to deduce the remarkable consequences of this hypothesis. (a)
Einstein was very good at using simple, but profound, physical reasoning to get to the heart
of things. His discussion of free-falling elevators provided two good examples.
Case 1: On Earth versus an accelerated reference frame

in space
Imagine you are in a small closed room on Earth (such as an elevator). You are holding an
apple, which you drop, and it accelerates towards the Earth (at 10 m s2) because of the con-
earth
stant force of gravity acting on it. Now lets attach a rocket motor to the room and travel to
a distant region of intergalactic space, so far from any planets or stars that gravity appears
(b)
to have no effect. The rocket engine propels the room with an acceleration of 10 m s2. If you
hold the apple in your hand it shares your motion and you have the same motion as the room.
So the room, you and the apple are all accelerating at the same rate. Now repeat the apple-
dropping experiment. As soon as you let go of the apple there is no longer any net force act-
ing on it. So what does it do? It obeys the law of inertia and tries to retain its current
velocity. But the room is accelerating and its velocity is increasing relative to the apple so
the floor catches up to the apple. To you, it appears that the apple hits the floor. Einstein
asked, How does this differ from apple-dropping on Earth? The answer is that it is no differ-
ent. An unaccelerated frame in Earths gravity is equivalent to an accelerated frame in the
absence of gravity.
C a s e 2 : Fr e e f a l l o n E a r t h v e r s u s a n u n a c c e l e r a t e d
reference frame in space
Imagine you are in an elevator that is at rest relative to the Earth (Figure 30.19(a)). The
gravitational force on your body, called your weight (FW), pulls you down onto the floor of
the elevator. However, because you are neither going through the floor nor being thrown into
the air it follows that the floor must be pushing up on you with exactly the same force. This
is the normal reaction force (FN). You experience this reaction force as your weight. Suddenly
disaster strikes; the elevator cables snap and you become weightless as you are in free
fall (Figure 30.19(b)). The floor of the elevator is accelerating towards Earth as fast as you
are (10 m s2). This has two consequences: the elevator cannot exert any force on your body

and you remain at rest relative to the elevator. You take an apple from your pocket and let go
of it. The apple appears to remain suspended in thin air. Again, this is because the apple is
in free fall and is accelerating towards the Earth at the same rate as the elevator. Einstein
asked, How different is this from being inside an elevator drifting around in outer space?
(Figure 30.19(c)). Einstein postulated that all physical phenomena occur exactly the same
way in a frame (i.e. the elevator) accelerating in gravitational free fall as they do in a frame
without gravity. Within the confines of the room, no experiment could help you decide which
situation you were in. Nor could any other experiment involving the laws of motion.
Figure 30.19
Einsteins elevator thought (a) (b) (c)
experiment. Free fall in a gravitational
field is like weightlessness in the
absence of a field.
at rest free fall

drifting
in space
earth earth
Figure 30.20
A laser beam has different paths to With his Gedanken experiments, Einstein showed that gravity can be made to vanish,
observers inside and outside a falling merely by going to a frame of reference that is in free fall. If gravity can be so easily
spaceship. Both are correct.
banished, he reasoned that what we call the force of gravity may be imaginary. Perhaps
(a) gravity is not a force at all, but is somehow related to free motion in space-time. Einstein
in free concluded that, since gravity has been transformed away within the elevator, all experiments
space
conducted inside it should give the same results as experiments carried out in empty space,
where there are no net gravitational influences. In 1915 Einstein translated his thoughts
about nature into a rigorous mathematical theory, the general theory of relativity. Einstein
summarised the results of his reasoning in his principle of equivalence, which can be
restated as:
All experiments will give the same results in a local frame of reference in free fall
and in a local frame of reference far removed from gravitational influences.
(b)
free fall
inside view That is, there is no experiment we can perform that will tell us whether we are in a free-
falling reference frame (like the elevator above) or in a reference frame far away in space.
Consequences and tests of general relativity

The consequences of Einsteins profound hypothesis are quite remarkable. In the following
section you will see some of the logical deductions of the hypothesis and how they have been
verified.
(c) Consider Figure 30.20. In a rocket in free space (somewhere far away from stars and
free fall planets) a laser beam is emitted from one side of the rocket towards a light detector on the
outside view
opposite side (diagram (a)). The astronaut sees the laser beam travel in a straight line from
one side to the other. How would this appear if the same rocket were in free fall near Earth
(diagram (b))? From inside, the astronaut will still see the laser beam travel in a straight line
across the room. So far, nothing strange! But now consider the same experiment viewed from
the reference frame of someone on Earth (diagram (c)). The stationary Earth observer also
sees the laser beam hit the light detector, but by the time the light beam has crossed the
cabin, the rocket and the light detector will have fallen a small distance. So the observer who
is stationary with respect to Earth will see the laser beam follow a curved path.

Since the stationary observer believes himself to be in a gravitational field (because he

feels his weight) he will conclude that gravity bends light. Einstein assumed that light,
nonetheless, travels in as straight a line as possible. The fact that lights natural motion is
curved could be understood if the space-time through which it travelled were itself curved.
The principle of equivalence is only the basis of general relativity. Just as the contraction
of length and time dilation equations follow from the postulates of special relativity, a
mathematical framework follows from this equivalence postulate. Unfortunately, general
relativity theory is too complicated to discuss quantitatively here (it involves the mathematics
of tensors and differential geometry). However, some of its astonishing predictions make
interesting reading. Four have become very popular with physicists: (1) the deflection of light
by the Sun, (2) gravitational lensing, (3) the precession of the perihelion of Mercury, and (4)
gravitational red shift.
Tests of general relativity

Deflection of light
Previously we imagined observing a beam of light in an accelerated elevator and saw that the
light path was curved. By the equivalence principle the same must be true for light whenever
gravitational forces are present. This was tested by carefully recording the position of stars
near the rim of the Sun during an eclipse (see Figure 30.21), and then observing the same
stars a year later when the Sun was not in a line between us and the stars.
star 1 star 1 Figure 30.21

(apparent (real
position) position) Distant stars appear to have a fixed
star 1
angular distance between them, but
star 2 star 2 if the rays of light from one should
pass near the Sun, they are
deflected by gravity.
sun
apparent
moon angle)
(causing
angle eclipse)
earth earth
(a) (b)
During the eclipse the observed starlight reaches us only after passing through a region
where gravitational effects from the Sun are very strong (that is why only stars near the rim
are used), but the observations a year later are done at a time where the gravitational effects
of the Sun on starlight are negligible.
It is found that the positions of the stars are displaced when photographs of both situa-
tions are compared. The deviations are the same as the ones predicted by general relativity.
Eddington first observed this effect in 1919 during a solar eclipse.
Gravitational lensing
In the late 1970s, a double quasar was discovered. These quasars are powerful astronomical
sources of radiation in the radio band of the spectrum (10 cm to 10 m wavelength). The fact
that it was a double quasar was unusual, but both had identical radio signatures so every-
thing about the two quasars seemed to be exactly the same, except that one was fainter than
the other. It was suggested that perhaps there was only one quasar and something was

producing multiple images. This something was likely to be a massive but optically faint
object which had bent its radio waves. A faint galaxy was subsequently discovered between
the two quasar images, which confirmed this hypothesis. Other examples have since been dis-
covered (see Figure 30.22).
Figure 30.22
A massive but optically faint galaxy quasar
can bend light from a distant intervening image
quasar, producing multiple images. galaxy
This is called gravitational lensing. quasar
observer
on earth quasar
image
Photo 30.5 Gravitational lenses can be considered to be a test of general relativity. This concept has
Hubble Space Telescope. Now over also given general relativity a new role in astronomy. By examining multiple images of a dis-
10 years old (launched in 1990), the
telescope is basically a new machine.
tant galaxy or quasar, their relative intensities and so on, astronomers can gain information
Upgrades and maintenance keep Hubble about an intervening galaxy whose gravitational field causes the bending of light. The light
operating in top condition to give us may take several months or even years longer on one of the light paths than on the other to
the best scientific data possible.
traverse the ten or more billion light-years to the quasar.
Such an effect has been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (Photo 30.5). On a
photo of a remote galaxy, two mirror images of the structure were observed on opposite sides
of the picture (see Photo 30.6: Einsteins Cross). These were believed to be caused by the
gravitational lensing of an intervening cluster of galaxies containing much dark matter that
does not emit electromagnetic radiation and so cannot be detected by regular observations.
Photo: Geraint Lewis and Michael Irwin, William Hershel Telescope

Figure 30.23
The slightly elliptical orbit of Mercury Photo 30.6
precesses due to the perturbing effects Einsteins Cross is a multiple image of a quasar approximately 8 billion light-years away, formed by gravitational lensing
of light as it passes a galaxy twenty times closer (400 million light-years). This is a famous example of an object
of the other planets.
that is seen four times. Here a very distant quasar happened to be positioned right behind a massive galaxy.
The gravitational effect of the galaxy on the distant object was similar to the lens effect of a drinking glass on a
distant street light it created multiple images. But stars in the foreground galaxy have been found to act as
gravitational lenses here too! These stars make the images change in brightness relative to each other. The brightness
changes are visible on these two photographs of Einsteins Cross, taken about three years apart.
Robert J. Nemiroff, Jerry T. Bonnell
Pe r i h e l i o n o f M e rc u r y
A long-standing problem in the study of the Solar System was that the orbit of Mercury did
not behave as required by Newtons equations. As Mercury orbits the Sun, it follows an ellipse
but only approximately. It is found that the point of closest approach of Mercury to the
Sun does not always occur at the same place, but slowly moves around the Sun (see Figure
30.23). This rotation of the orbit is called a precession.

The precession of the orbit is not peculiar to Mercury; all the planetary orbits precess. In
fact, Newtons theory predicts these effects, as being produced by the pull of the planets on
one another. The question is whether Newtons predictions agree with the amount an orbit
precesses. It is not enough to understand qualitatively what is the origin of an effect; such
arguments must be backed by hard numbers to give them credence. The precession of the
orbits of all planets except for Mercurys can in fact be understood using Newtons equations.
But Mercury seemed to be an exception.
The problem was that Newtons law of gravitation is correct only for a weak gravitational
field. A strong field might well cause observation to deviate from the classical expectation.
If any planet shows deviation, it should be Mercury, for it orbits where the Suns field is
strongest. Using general relativity, a correction to the classically expected precession rate of
Mercury may be calculated. The result of 43 seconds of arc per century is in good agreement
with observation.
Gravitational red shift

One prediction of general relativity is that gravitation affects time by causing it to slow down.
The greater the gravitational field, the greater is the slowing of time. In a region that has a
strong gravitational field, such as the Sun, the slowing of time should be noticeable. The con-
sequence is that the electronic vibrations of the Suns atoms should also be slower. From your
studies of wave motion and visible light you know that the rate of vibration (the frequency)
is related to the colour of the light: the lower the frequency, the more the colour is shifted
towards the red end of the spectrum. This is different from the Doppler red shift, which is
caused by the relative movement of the source (stars) and observer. In 1960, two American
physicists, R. V. Pound and G. A. Rebka, Jr, detected the red shift resulting from the Earths
gravitational field in agreement with Einsteins predictions.
The future
The special theory of relativity showed that relative motion can dilate time intervals and
contract length. With general relativity we have seen that a gravitational field can also
change (warp) time intervals, even when there is no relative motion. So we can ask, Can
gravity warp space intervals as well? The answer is Yes. General relativity predicts that a
massive heavenly body warps space-time nearby.
Representing warped space-time in three dimensions is difficult. It is easier in two
dimensions, in which space is area. Figure 30.24 shows a massive heavenly body disturbing
the uniformity of a two-dimensional space. All cells in this 2D space are of equal area, but
you should be able to see that to outside observers like us, the cells near the heavenly body
are really larger but only from our extra-dimensional viewpoint. You wouldnt notice the
warping of real three-dimensional space if you were located within it it is only apparent
to someone outside it. We ourselves live within our space of three dimensions, and are
not able to stand back and view our universe on four-dimensional axes. However, reduced-
dimensional views such as Figure 30.24 help to provide a qualitative understanding of some
features of general relativity. These are the challenges facing physicists today.
Figure 30.24
A massive heavenly body disturbs
the regularity of a two-dimensional
space.
heavenly body warped space-time

Another challenge relates to new evidence for and against relativity. After a century,
Einsteins theories have held up remarkably well. But as scientists probe the edges of the
current knowledge of physics with new tests, they may find effects that require modifications
of the venerable theory.
Several current theories, designed to encompass the behaviour of black holes, the Big
Bang and the fabric of the universe itself, could lead to violations of special relativity. So far,
recent, updated versions of century-old experiments show no signs that Einsteins vision is
reaching its limits. Various tests are ongoing, however, and a new generation of ultra-precise,
space-based experiments is set to launch in the next few years, offering some chance how-
ever slim of observing signs of the laws that will eventually supersede relativity.
In an updated version of the MichelsonMorley test, researchers have already sent laser
light into two optical cavities set at right angles to each other. The light forms a standing
wave in each cavity, with a frequency that depends on the cavity length and the speed of
light in that direction. If light can go faster in one direction of space than another, rotating
the apparatus should reveal this effect as a change in the relative frequencies between
cavities. The teams preliminary results showed no deviation from special relativity.
In 2003 physicists also found that Einsteins theory passed the most accurate version yet
of the KennedyThorndike test perhaps the most critical test of relativity first done in the
1930s. They compared the resonance of a standing light wave with an atomic clock over a
period of 190 days, during which time Earths orbital speed changes by 60 km s1. The result
was ten times as accurate as previous KennedyThorndike measurements, and no deviation
from relativity theory was found.
Others physicists have monitored highly stable atomic clocks. These are collections of
atoms that radiate at a certain frequency. Deviations from special relativity would show up as
changes in their frequencies, depending on which way Earth is pointing. Earth-bound atomic
clocks start to become unstable after just a few hours. Gravity, daily temperature changes and
mechanical degradation are all sources of error. So the next generation of atomic clock mea-
surements (the Primary Atomic Reference Clock in Space, PARCS) will compare the frequency
of an ultra-cold caesium atomic clock against a hydrogen microwave laser (or maser). These
measurements are scheduled to run on satellites or the International Space Station, where
microgravity and a shorter rotation time should allow higher accuracy.
Finally, two important tests of relativity will come late this decade: the Superconducting
Microwave Oscillator (SUMO) will keep time with a microwave-filled superconductor cavity. It
will make measurements on its own and in conjunction with the Rubidium Atomic Clock
Experiment (RACE) and the Space Time Mission (STM) will slingshot a satellite containing
three atomic clocks around Jupiter for a close view of the Sun. The high speeds involved will
offer more sensitive tests of relativity.
Practice questions
*14 If you were standing on top of a moving train and threw a rock straight up (as it
appeared to you):
(a) how would the motion of the rock appear to your mother, who is standing
on the platform; (b) would it land behind the carriage or on top of it;
(c) would you be in trouble when she got hold of you?
*15 If you were on a rocketship travelling at 0.6c away from the Sun, at what speed
would the sunlight pass you?
**16 How fast must a pion be travelling if its rest life is 2.6 108 s but to a
laboratory observer it appears to live for 5.2 108 s?
**17 A certain type of elementary particle travels at a speed of 2.6 108 m s1. At
this speed, the average lifetime is measured to be 2.20 107 s.
(a) Express its speed in units of c.
(b) What is the particles lifetime at rest?

*18 Do mass increase, time dilation, and length contraction occur at ordinary speeds,
say, 100 km h1?
**19 A spaceship passes you at a speed of 0.75c. You measure its length to be 120 m.
How long would it be when at rest?
**20 Suppose you decide to travel to a star 80 light-years away. How fast would you
have to travel so the distance would be only 40 light-years?
**21 If you were to travel to a star 24 light-years from Earth at a speed of
2.4 108 m s1, what would you measure this distance to be?
**22 Spaceships Alpha and Beta are approaching Earth at speeds of 0.85c and 0.65c
respectively. Calculate the speed of Alpha relative to Beta if the ships are on
(a) parallel tracks; (b) anti-parallel tracks.
**23 In the medical procedure called positron emission tomography (PET), a
radioactive nucleus emits a positron that is captured by an electron. Both
particles immediately self-destruct, forming two gamma photons that travel
out in opposite directions. Knowing that photons travel at c, calculate the
speed of one relative to the other.
**24 At what speed will an objects mass be twice its rest mass?
**25 (a) What is the speed of an electron whose mass is 800 times its rest mass?
(b) If the electrons travel in a lab through a linear accelerator 1.5 km long,
how long will this tube be in the electrons reference frame?
**26 (a) How much energy can be obtained from conversion of 1.0 g of mass?
(b) How much mass could this energy raise to a height of 10 m?
*27 If you were travelling away from Earth at a speed of 0.5c, would your mass,
height, or waistline change? What would observers on Earth using telescopes say
about these things?
*28 Consider the piece of paper on which one page of this book is printed. Which of
the following properties of the piece of paper are absolute, that is, which are
independent of whether the paper is at rest or in motion relative to you?
(a) The thickness of the paper; (b) the mass of the paper; (c) the volume of the
paper; (d) the number of atoms in the paper; (e) the chemical composition of
the paper; (f) the speed of the light reflected by the paper; (g) the colour of
the coloured print on the paper.

**29 Because of the rotational motion of the Earth about its axis, a point on the
Equator moves with a speed 460 km h1 relative to a point on the North Pole.
Does this mean that a clock placed on the Equator runs more slowly than a
similar clock placed on the Pole?
**30 A 100 MeV electron, travelling at 0.999 987c, moves along the axis of an
evacuated tube that has a length of 3.00 m as measured by a laboratory observer
S with respect to whom the tube is at rest. An observer S moving with the
electron, however, would see this tube moving past her. What length would the
tube appear to the observer S?
**31 A friend of yours travels by you in her fast sports car at a speed of 0.760c. It
appears to be 5.80 m long and 1.45 m high.
(a) What will be its length and height at rest?
(b) How many seconds did you see elapse on your friends watch when 20.0 s
passed in the Earths frame of reference?
(c) How fast did you appear to be travelling to your friend?
***32 The star Alpha Centauri is 4.0 light-years away. At what constant velocity must a
spacecraft travel from Earth if it is to reach the star in 3.0 years, as measured by
travellers on the spacecraft?

***33 Suppose that a special breed of cat (Felix schrdingerus) lives for exactly 7.00
years according to its own body clock. When such a cat is born, it is put aboard
a spaceship and sent off at a speed of 0.80c toward the star Alpha Centauri.
(a) How far from the Earth (reckoned in the reference frame of the Earth) will
the cat be when it dies?
(b) As soon as the cat dies, a radio signal announcing the death of the cat will
be sent from the spaceship. How many years after departure will the signal
reach Earth (radio signals travel at the speed of light)?
**34 Suppose a spacecraft of rest mass 20 000 kg is accelerated to 0.25c.
(a) How much kinetic energy would it have?
(b) If you used the classical formula for kinetic energy, by what percentage
would you be in error?
***35 An object with a rest mass of 1.000 kg is accelerated to high speed. Calculate the
dilated mass (to 4 significant figures) of the object for speeds increasing from
rest in increments of 0.1c up to 0.9c and also at 0.95c, 0.99c, 0.999c and
0.9999c. Plot a graph with speed on the x-axis. Use a computer spreadsheet if
you like.
***36 You are sitting in your Holden when a very fast sports car passes you at a speed
of 0.18c. A person in the car says his car is 6.00 m long and yours is 6.15 m
long. What do you measure for these two lengths?
***37 Apart from the Sun, our nearest star is Proxima Centauri which is 4.225
light-years away. How many years would it take a spacecraft travelling 0.80c to
reach that star from Earth as measured by observers (a) on Earth (b) on the
spacecraft? (c) What is the distance travelled according to observers on the
spacecraft?
***38 Prove that the kinetic energy of an electron of rest mass 9.11 1031 kg, which
has a relativistic mass of 2.0 1030 kg, is 0.62 MeV (1 J = 6.24 1018 eV) and
that its speed is 2.7 108 m s1.
**39 A proton has a total energy three times its rest energy.
(a) Calculate its rest energy in MeV.
(b) Calculate its KE in MeV.
(c) How fast is it travelling?
***40 In relativity, momentum is conserved just as it is in classical physics. The
formula for relativistic momentum is the same except that the relativistic mass
(m) must be used instead of rest mass (m0).
(a) Derive a formula for relativistic momentum (mv = m0 etc.).
(b) Square both sides and rearrange to show that m2 = m02 + (mv)2/c2.
(c) Multiply both sides by c4 and show that m2c4 = m02c4 + c2p2.
(d) For a photon (rest mass = zero), show that this equation becomes
Etotal (= mc2) = cp.
(e) Using the equation in part (c), show that the relativistic momentum of an
electron described in Question 38 above is 5.4 1022 kg m s1.
***41 Imagine a rocketship takes off for a distant planet and can travel at many times
the speed of light. (We know that this is impossible but lets just say you can for
this question.) Observers on the planet are viewing the incoming spaceship
through a powerful telescope. Describe what they will see from the moment the
rocketship leaves Earth until it lands on the observers planet.

CHAPTER 31
Designing Practical Electronic Circuits
31.1 INTRODUCTION
In Chapters 23 and 24 we looked at the behaviour of basic components in electronics as well
as simple systems that could be produced with them. In this chapter we will examine, in more
detail, practical applications of electronics, especially using integrated circuit systems. We
will look at circuit examples that you might like to try building as the basis of a hobby
project. You might become interested enough to purchase and build one of the many
hundreds of electronics constructor kits that are commercially available.
Most electronics today is based on combinations of integrated circuits, especially digital
ICs, and these are quite easy to use. Always keep in mind the safety aspect of electricity and
only deal with kits or projects that involve battery power supplies or use mains plug pack
transformers, as described later in this chapter.
31.2 RLC RESONANCE AND TUNING CIRCUITS

Radio waves transmitted from sources such as AM and FM radio stations, television channels
and CB or short wave transmitters all involve different frequency electromagnetic signals or
voltages. In order to learn how to detect these signals with electronic circuits, we need to
examine the AC behaviour of capacitor and inductor components.
voltage current Figure 31.1

+ Capacitors and AC voltage.
Magnitude
I = dQ
dt
Vo
Io
Vo sin (2f )t
C
Time

1 cycle
Recall the DC timing constant property of a charging capacitor in an RC circuit. Lets

see what occurs when an AC voltage is placed across any capacitor, as in Figure 31.1. The
capacitor will charge instantly, with the voltage across it at any time being equal to the

supply voltage. A sinusoidally varying AC voltage (sine wave) of frequency f will be given by
the equation:
V = V o sin t = V o sin (2f )t

(where V o is the voltage peak amplitude).
and this voltage will at any instant of time be equal to the voltage as defined by the capaci-
tance, namely:
V = Q = V o sin (2f )t
C
or Q = V o . C . sin (2f )t
but the current, I, flowing to the capacitor at any time will be given by:
I = dQ (rate of change of charge with time)

dt
Hence, current flow in any capacitor connected to an AC voltage supply will be:
I = dQ = d(V o C sin (2f )t)

dt dt
I = V o C 2f cos (2f )t
I = I o cos (2f )t where I o = V o 2fC
(where I o is the current peak amplitude).
Note that because the sine curve and a cosine curve are out of phase, the current peak, Io,
leads the voltage peak, Vo, by 90. This is called a phase shift or phase angle. Also notice
that the link between Io and Vo for a capacitor can be written as:
1 =I
Vo = Io o XC
2fC
which is similar to Ohms law and introduces a property of frequency-dependent resistance or

reactance for a capacitor.
Figure 31.2
RC circuit and impedance. resistance vector (R)
R
capacitive reactance
VAC vector (XC) Xc
C
(f )
total impedance vector (Z )
1
Xc =
2fc
Z
XC
X = R2 + Xc2 ; tan = Xc
R

VAC = IACZ
R
D e s i g n i n g P r a c t i c a l E l e c t r o n i c C i rc u i t s 711
1
The capacitive reactance, XC = 2fC , becomes a phasor quantity (similar to a vector
quantity) with both magnitude in ohms and a phase angle in degrees. In the RC series circuit
of Figure 31.2, the vectors are drawn representing pure resistance, R, in which current and
voltage are in phase, and capacitive reactance, XC, in which the current leads the voltage by
90. The total AC resistance to the flow of alternating current (AC) from the supply is called
the circuit impedance, Z, and is calculated by vector addition processes.
In a simple series RC circuit the total impedance:
Z = R 2 + X C2
and the phase angle () is given by:
tan = X C
R
The impedance, Z, is measured in ohms. Ohms law equivalent for this AC series RC circuit
becomes:
V=I.Z
Example
In the circuit of Figure 31.2, the AC voltage was 12 V RMS and the supply frequency is 50 Hz,
the capacitor has a value of 0.33 F and the resistance is 10 k. Find:
(a) the capacitive reactance XC;
(b) the total circuit impedance Z;
(c) the AC circuit current (RMS);
(d) the phase angle between voltage and current.
Solution
(a) At f = 50 Hz:
1 = 1
XC =
2fC 2 50 0.33 10 6
X C = 9600
(b) Completing a vector diagram for impedance Z:
Z
XC = 9600 ohms

R = 10 000 ohms
Z = (9600) 2 + (10 000) 2 = 13 900
(c) Hence, AC current, IRMS, can be calculated using V = IZ.
12 = I RMS 13 900
I RMS = 0.86 mA

(d) Phase angle is given by:
tan = X C = 9600 = 0.96 angle = 44

R 10 000
Thus, in this circuit, the current sine wave reaches a maximum 44 before the
voltage sine wave reaches its maximum. This would be best shown graphically.
A similar analysis to that above can be applied to a simple inductor coil connected to an
AC voltage source. (Refer to Figure 31.3.) The result is that an inductor provides an
opposition to the flow of alternating current in a circuit that is frequency-dependent and is
called inductive reactance (XL), where XL = 2fL.
Notice that an inductor is a low resistance to low frequency AC and provides high resist-
ance to high frequency AC. This reactance is again measured in ohms. For any inductor coil,
the AC current flow lags the AC voltage across the coil by a 90 phase shift and thus the
inductive reactance vector can be drawn pointing downward.
Figure 31.3 R
RL circuit and impedance. resistance vector (R)
inductive reactance
VAC vector (XL) XL
L
(f )
total impedance vector (Z)
R
XL = 2fL
XL
Z = R2 + XL2 ; tan = XL
R Z
VAC = IAC Z
To calculate total circuit impedance in an RL series circuit, vector processes are again
required.
Z = R 2 + X L2
Series RLC resonance

Consider the circuit of Figure 31.4 showing an RLC series connection to an AC voltage source.
In this circuit the inductive reactance will tend to balance the capacitive reactance because
of the opposite direction of the vectors. At one particular AC frequency XL = XC and a
maximum value of current will flow, only restricted by the pure resistance R. At this particular
frequency the series RLC circuit is said to resonate. An RLC series circuit will resonate at a
frequency calculated by equating the reactances, hence:
1 1
2fL = or f R =
2fC 2LC
where fR = resonant frequency.

It is important to realise that in this circuit the total impedance at resonance will be
equal to the circuit resistance, R. Figure 31.4 also illustrates graphically the impedance and
current flow as a function of frequency.
vectors at resonance Figure 31.4

R RLC series resonance.
XC
VAC L Z=R
R
XL
C
A
Impedance (Z )
IAC
R
fR fR
Frequency (f ) Frequency (f )
In any series circuit at resonance, the voltage across the capacitor and the inductor
individually may be many times more than the supply voltage. This is true even if the total
voltage across the combination of L and C together is zero because of the effect of opposite
phase angles. This is a danger to anyone who may touch capacitors or inductors in any high
voltage AC circuits, as shown in the following example.
Example
An RLC circuit is connected to a variable frequency AC generator whose effective voltage
output is 48 VRMS. If the circuit elements have values L = 100 mH, C = 0.02 F, R = 50 , find:
(a) the resonant frequency of the circuit;
(b) the circuit AC current at resonance;
(c) the voltages across each component R, L and C at this resonant frequency.
Solution
(a) The resonant frequency:
1 1
fR = =
2 LC 2 100 10 3 0.02 10 6

f R = 3.6 10 3 Hz
(b) At resonance:
VAC 48
IAC = = = 0.96 A
R 50
(c) Voltage drops across each component:
VC = IX C = I 1/2fC = 0.96/2 3.6 10 3 0.2 10 6

VC = 2.1 10 2 V
VL = IX L = I 2fL = 0.96 2 3.6 10 3 100 10 3
VL = 2.2 10 3 V
VR = I.R = 0.96 50 = 48 V
Notice the high voltages individually across L and C, which are considerably
greater than the AC values of the EMF in the circuit.

Figure 31.5 antenna Q factor

Radio tuning circuits.
current, Imax
detector small R
Photo 31.1 amplifier high Q
Tuning module.
Imax
L C 2 high R
low Q
tuning
fR
Frequency, f
One of the most useful applications in electronic circuits for the property of resonance is
in tuning circuits, as used in radio and television receivers. (See Figure 31.5.) Resonance is
used to select a desired frequency or radio channel from the multitude of frequencies arriving
at the receiver antenna from all available broadcasting stations. A variable tuning capacitor
is used in an RLC circuit, known as a tank oscillator, to select a resonant frequency equal to
In 2002 the engineers at the carrier wave or broadcast frequency of the channel selected. For example, the carrier
Motorolas Semiconductor
frequency of radio station Brisbane B105 FM is 105.4 MHz. At the resonant frequency, the EMF
Products Sector in Austin, Texas
developed a set of silicon chips
induced in the antenna by the incident waves causes a large current in the antenna circuit,
that apply sophisticated digital which can then produce a modulated audio or video signal. Other channels or stations that
processing to standard analog have carrier frequencies not in resonance with the antenna circuit will produce negligibly
signals, enabling software code small currents. The quality factor or Q factor of a resonant circuit is defined as the ratio of
rather than analog circuitry to the voltage across the capacitor to that of the voltage across the resistor at resonance:
do the tuning. Called Symphony
Digital Radio, the system relies
on algorithms running at the V 1 L
Q= C =
rate of 1500 million instructions VR R C
per second on Symphonys
24-bit semiconductor chip
set. The device converts any The larger the Q factor of a circuit, the sharper will be the resonance curve and therefore the
incoming tuned AM or FM signal more selective will be the tuning ability. This means that the radio receiver will be better able
into an intermediate frequency to tune one individual radio station without at the same time receiving another station that
that can be filtered and happens to be in a close position on the broadcasting frequency band. Have you ever listened
conditioned by DSPs (digital at night to your transistor radio and heard more than one station at the same time; it can get
signal processors). The result
rather confusing, cant it? This effect is often due to poor selectivity and it increases at night
can be almost CD-quality sound
from analog radios, given a
when reception of weaker strength radio signals is often enhanced.
sufficiently strong signal.
The Motorola system represents
an early example in a new VOLTAGE REGULATORS AND POWER SUPPLIES 31.3
class of what the electronics
industry calls software or Recall in Chapter 23, when referring to rectification, it was stated that simple DC power
software-defined radios, a supply circuits suffer from a lack of voltage regulation. The solution offered was to use a zener
technology that derives
diode to maintain constant voltage conditions. In more advanced DC power supply designs a
tremendous flexibility by using
digital code in place of fixed
better choice is a three terminal linear IC called a voltage regulator or a three terminal
hardware to accomplish regulator. These devices are one of the most useful IC components in modern electronics
functional tasks. simply because they do away with the need for complex voltage regulation circuits when
designing the power supply section for consumer items, such as small transistor radios or
cassette players. In fact, highly regulated DC voltage supplies are vital for most digital
circuits such as computers and audiovideo control circuits.
The term regulated power supply means that active devices such as transistors and Op-
Amps are used to electronically filter or eliminate variations in output voltage and sometimes
current. The stabilised voltage output of a regulated supply allows a circuit to operate more
precisely. Three terminal regulator ICs provide very high general regulation characteristics
as well as other advantages such as current limiting, thermal overload protection against over-
heating, and the ICs are available as either positive, negative or variable output voltage types.
Three-terminal regulators have three-pin connections called input, output and common, Figure 31.6
as shown in Figure 31.6, which illustrates the common 7800 series of positive regulators in a Three-terminal regulators
7800 series pin diagrams.
TO-3 or TO-220 IC case design. For example, a 7805 voltage regulator has an output voltage
of exactly +5.0 V. The last two digits of the series generally refer to the regulators output TO-220 case
Top view
voltage. Similarly, the 7900 series is a negative voltage regulator family providing similar
features to the positive types but with a different pin configuration. As usual, it is always output
wise to check the manufacturers pin diagrams before connecting these regulator chips into
common
the circuit. Both of these regulator families provide output currents up to 1.5 A maximum if
input
the chip is adequately mounted onto an aluminium heat sink to dissipate the heat produced
as the IC chip operates. common
Figure 31.7 illustrates a common circuit used in voltage regulator power supply design.
The transformer and diode bridge provide a rectified input to the device and the output is
TO-3 case
maintained at a very constant positive 5.0 V at 1.0 A maximum current capability. Notice Bottom view
that, as with all regulators, the input voltage has to be at least 2 V higher than the desired
input
output, preferably even higher, in order to maintain regulation and eliminate ripple voltage common
passing across from the rectifier. As well, capacitors are usually connected between the com-
mon terminal and both the input and output terminals, as close as possible to the regulator
chip itself.
output
Vin 12 V 1 +5 V @ 1A
7805 DC
3
+ 2 0.1 F
Figure 31.7
+ Voltage regulator.
2500 F
Vin Figure 31.8

TIP2955 Vo
Current pass transistor with a
voltage regulator.
3.3
in
out
78XX
in
+ common +
0.33 F 0.1 F

If a power supply circuit design calls for a high current capability as well as voltage regu-
lation properties, then a current bypass power transistor can be used, as shown in Figure
31.8. In this circuit a PNP power transistor, such as a TIP2955, is used to allow for an output
voltage of 12 V at a maximum current of 4.0 A. The input to this circuit again would be any
rectified and filtered DC voltage greater than about 15 V.
Sometimes the most versatile power supply designs are those that provide variable
output voltages all at the same maximum current capability. The LM317 or LM350 series
regulators allow this type of function with a circuit as shown in Figure 31.9. In this circuit
design the value of resistor R is given by:
R = (96V o) 120
where Vo is output voltage required.

Of course, if R is made a variable resistor or potentiometer, then the circuit is fully
variable and not just adjustable. Again, Vin should be at least 2.5 V higher than the required
Vo and the capacitor voltage ratings must match the required input and output voltages.

Figure 31.9 [R = 96Vo 120]

LM317 adjustable voltage regulator.
Vin
out Vo
LM317
in
120
+ ADJ +
0.1 F 1 F
tant
R +
10 F

With these circuits it is easy to see that simple power supply design is within reach of
most constructors. One final integrated circuit regulator chip that is very versatile is the 723
voltage regulator, which is intended for both positive and negative supply design. Its output
voltage is adjustable between 2 and 37 volts. Its own internal transistor can supply currents
up to 150 mA, but output current capability can be increased with the appropriate external
bypass transistor.
A c t i v i t y 3 1 . 1 D E S I G N I N G A P OW E R S U P P LY
Obtain copies of the data sections from electronics supplier catalogues, such as can be
obtained from Dick Smith Electronics or Tandy electronics stores. Research the full range
of three terminal regulators available together with their respective costs and operating
characteristics. You might like to see what it would cost to build a complete DC power
supply designed to operate from a plug-pack AC transformer. Aim for a variable supply
from 3 volts to 9 volts output capable of supplying up to 1.0 amp of current.
Questions
1 In a series RC circuit operating at an AC frequency of 1.0 kHz and voltage
10 VRMS, R = 2700 , C = 0.1 F. Calculate (a) capacitive reactance; (b) total
circuit impedance; (c) the alternating current flow in the circuit; (d) the phase
angle between voltage and current.
2 An RLC series circuit is connected to an AC generator of voltage 50 VRMS. In the
circuit L = 100 mH, C = 2.0 F, R = 150 .
(a) What is the resonant frequency?
(b) What is the effective current at resonance?
(c) What are the voltage drops across each component at resonance?
(d) What power is delivered to the circuit at resonance?
(e) What is the circuit Q factor?
3 Using the circuit of Figure 31.9, calculate the value of the adjust resistor needed
to supply an output voltage of 7.2 V. What would be an appropriate input
voltage for this circuit?
TRANSISTORS AS AC VOLTAGE AMPLIFIERS 31.4

Recall that, in Chapter 24, a transistor was described as an active semiconductor three ter-
minal device that could be biased to act either as a direct current amplifier or as an electronic
switch. One of the most practical uses of transistors in electronic circuit design is as an ampli-
fier for small AC voltages. Such small voltages are produced, for instance, as the output of a
microphone. AC voltage amplifiers based on either discrete transistors or integrated circuits
(Op-Amps) form the heart of many electronic systems and are one of the building blocks of
modern electronic technology. Lets look now into their principles of operation and design.
It has been seen that a small base current (DC) flowing into a transistor will control a
much larger collector current. If this base current is made to change in a periodic fashion by
a small AC voltage signal connected to the transistors base, then a corresponding amplified
AC voltage will appear across the transistor output or collector resistance. The transistor needs
to be biased correctly to avoid various types of output voltage distortion. The voltage across
the collector resistor depends on both the size of the collector current and the value of
the collector resistance. Remember that for any given base current the size of the collector
current depends on the transistor gain, , hence a transistor AC voltage gain depends on its
own current gain and also on the value of the collector resistor used.
The available transistor output AC voltage is usually taken via a capacitor connected
directly (coupled) to the collector terminal of the transistor. Let us now look at how to design
a practical transistor amplifier circuit that could be used to amplify the very small AC voltage
produced by a microphone. The circuit is shown in Figure 31.10 and is correctly called a
linear class A common emitter NPN transistor amplifier. Transistors suitable for this type of
circuit are often called general purpose small signal amplifier transistors or GPSS types.
Common examples are designated as BC108, BC548 or 2N3566, but hundreds of different
types are manufactured.
supply: VCC(+) Figure 31.10
Common emitter class A small
signal amplifier.
R1 RC
Co
Vout
TI
C1
microphone
R2 RE C2
Linear amplifiers should fulfil these basic principles of design:

The output signal voltage should be an exact replica of the input, but much larger in
amplitude.
The amplifiers input impedance must be as close as possible in value to that of the
output of the voltage transducer driving it.
No unwanted AC signals or DC voltages should enter the amplifier input.
The amplifiers output impedance must match the load into which it is driving.
The amplifier should introduce minimum distortion or change of wave shape at the I N V E S T I G AT I N G
output.
In a class A amplifier, such as we are designing, the transistor conducts during the The symbol for the power supply
complete input signal cycle, that is, for 360. In class B and class C amplifiers, transistor in these circuits is VCC. Find out
what the CC means.
conduction is not for the full input cycle and while this is often more efficient for higher
voltage and power levels, they are more difficult to design and will not be considered here.
The transistor in Figure 31.10 is connected in common emitter mode because the transistor
emitter terminal forms part of the current loop for both input and output circuits. Other
methods of transistor connection are called common base and common collector or emitter
follower and are shown in Figure 31.11. These are less often used in general purpose ampli-
fier circuits and are restricted to special applications.
NPN bipolar transistors will be used in our amplifier design because these devices have a
high gain, which can produce large voltage gains in the output circuit comprising resistor
RC in parallel with the output terminal load device. Manufacturers provide gain values on
data sheets, both an AC and a DC value, but because our designs assume only small input
signal voltages, we will take these as equivalent. Biasing is the name given to the fixed DC
voltage connected between transistor emitter and base, which causes a steady current to flow
in the baseemitter circuit when no input voltage signal is applied through capacitor C1. The

(a) VCC (b) VCC

Figure 31.11
Other amplifier modes: (a) common
base; (b) emitter follower.
RC R1 R1
Vout Vin
Vout
Vin
C1 C1
RE R2 R2
(a) Common base (b) Emitter follower
biasing network consists of voltage divider R1 and R2 and the emitter resistor RE. Biasing is
necessary to provide the correct operating DC conditions for our amplifier, specifically:
to provide a conduction voltage of more than 0.7 V for silicon transistors
to avoid output distortion due to the rectifying properties of the baseemitter junction
to prevent thermal runaway occurring as a result of amplified leakage current being
temperature-dependent and adding to the base current this could cause thermal
breakdown of the semiconductor
to provide for a variation of characteristics among manufactured transistors. This
means the bias network has to cope with the fact that no two transistors, even of
the same type, are identical and so if one device has to be replaced by another, the
overall circuit does not have to be redesigned. One characteristic that varies widely
from one transistor to another is the current gain factor, . For example, BC108
transistors can vary from a value of 100 to a value of 800 in this factor.
The amplifier of Figure 31.10 uses voltage divider bias because the base bias voltage is
determined by the resistors acting as a voltage divider to the supply voltage. Let us look at
a typical set of steps for designing a transistor amplifier of this type. We will assume a tran-
sistor has been selected that has a maximum DC collector current of 5 mA and we are using
a power supply VCC of 12 V.
Step 1 Calculate value of R E
It is appropriate to drop about 10% of the supply voltage across RE. Hence, 10% of 12 V = 1.2
V. For class A operation, the quiescent or steady state collector current should be about half
the maximum allowed, that is, in this circuit, a value of 2.5 mA, which is the same as IE.
Hence:
R E = V RE = 1.2 V = 480
IE 2.5 mA
Step 2 Calculate value of R C

For a class A amplifier, RC, the collector resistor, should have a value such that half the
supply voltage appears across the transistors collectoremitter terminals, with the quiescent
collector current flowing. In our amplifier, at an IC value of 2.5 mA:
V CE = V CC = 12 = 6 V
2 2
Now the remaining 6 V drop will appear across RC and RE. From Step 1 and Ohms law:
6 V = 2.5 mA (R C + 480)
R C = 1920 (value of 2 k is close)
Step 3 Calculate the voltage at the transistors base, V B

Assuming a silicon transistor, VBE = 0.7 V, hence the voltage at the base VB = VBE + VRE,
VB = (0.7 + 1.2) V = 1.9 V.
Step 4 Calculate maximum base current, I B
A small signal voltage amplifier transistor will have a worst case value of, say, 200.
I 2.5 mA
Hence IB = C = = 0.013 mA, which will represent the maximum value of base
200
current required. This figure allows a calculation of both R1 and R2 values.
Step 5 Calculate R 1 and R 2 divider values
The current drawn into the transistors base is supplied by the voltage divider R1 : R2. If the
voltage at the base is to remain constant irrespective of the current value, IB, it is necessary
to make the current flow through the divider R1 : R2 much larger than IB about 10 times,
in fact, as a rule of thumb.
Hence:
current through R 2 = 10 0.013 mA = 0.13 mA
Given that the voltage required at the base, VB = 1.9 V, the value of:
1.9 V
R2 = = 14.6 k = 15 k closest
0.13 mA
Also: the voltage drop across resistor R1 = 12 1.9 = 10.1 V, and the value of the current
through R1 = 0.13 mA. Thus, the value of:
10.1 V
R1 = = 77.7 k = 82 k closest
0.13 mA
Step 6 Calculate values of capacitors

These capacitors are the least critical in practical amplifier design. The input and output
coupling capacitors are usually chosen to be in the range of 1.010 F. The emitter bypass
capacitor, C2, is necessary to obtain maximum voltage amplification from this type of circuit.
A portion of the output signal voltage appearing at the collector can find its way into the
resistor RE. This leads to a decrease in overall gain and in order to prevent this happening,
resistor RE has to ignore any voltage at the signal AC frequency. It has to become an AC short
circuit path to ground at signal frequencies. If a capacitor is placed in parallel with RE, so
that its XC reactance at signal frequencies is very low, then this short circuit path is produced
and the possible decrease in amplifier gain is prevented. In most practical audio amplifier
circuits, such as those used to amplify small microphone voltage signals, a typical emitter
bypass capacitor value is from 20 F to 50 F.
Our finished practical amplifier of Figure 31.10 has the following components and will act
as a reliable small signal voltage amplifier:
T1 = BC108 NPN V CC supply = 12 V DC

R1 = 82 k C1 = C out = 1 F
R2 = 15 k C2 = 47 F
RC = 2 k RE = 480
If this amplifier circuit is constructed it is usually found that values close to those
calculated will still make the circuit work quite satisfactorily. This is an advantage of
the voltage divider bias conditions. If the bias conditions for a transistor amplifier are not
correct, then various forms of distortion of the output waveform can occur. Distortion, such
as saturation and cut-off, can occur with incorrect resistor values, and total signal clipping

can occur if the input voltage signal is too large in amplitude. Engineers designing critical
amplifiers need to be careful not to introduce these forms of amplifier distortion as they will
lead to eventual distortion of the sound output if, for instance, the amplifier is part of an
audio system.
Refer to Figure 31.12. Notice also that the output signal in these common emitter class A
amplifiers is always phase inverted. This means that if the input signal is a maximum at a
particular time then the consequent output signal will be a minimum.
Figure 31.12 VCC +

Amplifier output distortion.
Voutput
Vin
normal clipped cut off

input inverted input too bias too high
sinewave large
The final amplifier design will increase small changes in input voltage to much larger
changes in output voltage. This is called voltage amplification or voltage gain, AV, where:
Photo 31.2
Signal amplification. V out R C
AV = =
V in RE
In circuits with an emitter bypass capacitor present:
RC
AV =
re
where re is the internal emitter resistance. Its value is usually about 1020 so that voltage
gain values, AV, of 100200 times are quite common. The voltage gain of an amplifier circuit
is often easily measured with an oscilloscope and is usually quoted at a particular frequency
of, say, 1000 Hz. The photo illustrates the voltage amplification of a transistor amplifier on
a CRO screen.
Questions
4 Explain the operating conditions necessary to make a transistor function as a
voltage amplifier. What bias method is commonly used?
5 You are designing a single transistor amplifier circuit using a device with a
maximum collector current of 20 mA, = 250 and voltage supply of 9 V. Using
the design steps, calculate all values of the circuit components needed. Sketch
your designed circuit and estimate its maximum voltage gain.
I C A P P L I C AT I O N C I R C U I T S 31.5
Linear IC applications
Lets continue our investigation of Op-Amp integrated circuits applications. Recall that, in
Chapter 24, the Op-Amp chip was used in its inverting amplifier mode. This method of oper-
ation is similar to the discrete transistor AC voltage amplifier discussed in the previous
section, but IC chip amplifiers are much more stable and are easier to use in electronics
design. You should also realise that manufacturers often make integrated circuits with multi-
ple operational amplifiers in the one chip package. Good examples are the LM324 Quad GP
operational amplifier or the TL074 Quad JFET low noise operational amplifiers, where Quad
refers to four amplifiers available in each chip package. Figure 31.13 illustrates the pin
configuration of the LM324 Op-Amp chip in a 14 pin DIL package.
Figure 31.13
Quad Op-Amp LM324 chip.
14
13
12
11
10
8
1 out 1 8 out 3
2 in 1 1 3 9 in 3
3 in 1+ 10 in 3+
4 V+ LM324 11 V
5 in 2+ 12 in 4+
6 in 2 2 4 13 in 4
7 out 2 14 out 4
1
7
Further application circuits of the linear operational amplifier IC are found as the wave
function generator, adder and comparator as well as the audio amplifier. A brief discussion of
each circuit type follows. Notice that quite often the Op-Amp chip requires a dual polarity
power supply in these circuits.
Wa v e f u n c t i o n g e n e r a t o r s
(a)
Figure 31.14
Wave function generator circuits.
R1
01 M
C1
2

6 Vout
0.1F 741
3 1
+ fout =
R3 R2 2.2R1C1
10 k 10 k
R1 C2
(b)
100 k 1 F
10 k
2

6 Vout
0.2 F 741 741
3 Vout
+ +
10 k
Vout
22 k
The circuit of Figure 31.14(a) is using the 741 Op-Amp as a free running multivibrator circuit
that produces a continuous square wave clock pulse. In circuit (b) the output of a similar
circuit is connected to the input of a circuit that has a capacitor in place of the feedback
resistor and has the function of carrying out an integration operation on the input voltage.
This circuit will produce a second triangular wave output at pin 6 of the second 741 Op-Amp.
Note the frequency formula for both circuits.

Adders and comparators

Figure 31.15 RF
Op-Amp adder. R1
V1
Vout
R2
V2 +
Figure 31.16
Op-Amp comparator.
+VCC
VO =( RF ) V1 + RF ( V2 )
R1 R2
Refer to Figure 31.15 which illustrates the Op-Amp used as an adder. It is simply an invert-
+ ing amplifier with more than one input resistor. Resistors R1 and R2 control the amount
Vout
Vin
of each voltage input that will appear added together at the circuit output. The comparator
circuit of Figure 31.16 is used as a switch, which changes when a certain threshold voltage
is reached, determined by the voltage divider resistors present at the non-inverting input
of the Op-Amp. Voltage comparators drive the familiar bar graph LED displays in stereo
amplifiers that indicate volume or recording level changes and contain a series of illuminat-
ing level indicators.
Audio amplifiers
Figure 31.17 +9 V
Linear LM386 audio amplifier.
10 F
+
input + 6 220 F
3
+ output
100 F 386
5 k 5
volume 2 4
8 load
Before leaving linear IC circuit applications lets look at a very practical IC, the LM386, which
is a low voltage audio amplifier that could be used as the basis of a construction project, say,
as an amplifier to drive a small set of speakers from the headphone output socket of your
portable stereo Walkman. Of course, a separate circuit would be needed for each channel
of the available stereo output (Figure 31.17). The 5 k potentiometer is used to control
the volume because it subdivides the voltage from the input and applies the appropriate
proportion to pin 3 of the chip. The internal gain of the LM386 chip is set to a value of
20. The circuit operates quite well from a simple 9 V DC power supply. The LM386 power
amplifier is a very versatile integrated circuit that can supply about 400 mW of power into a
typical 4 speaker load impedance using the 9 V supply.
In the same category but able to supply higher power ratings, especially if properly
connected to thermal sinks to dissipate heat generated, is the LM380 2.5 W amplifier IC and
the LM1875 20 W amplifier IC. Usually these devices are driven from a properly designed
regulated power supply. Again, pin configuration diagrams for these chips are very easy to
obtain and the chips are relatively inexpensive to purchase.
Digital devices and application circuits

Integrated circuits are used to perform a wide variety of functions in systems such as
telephones, calculators and computers. Two basic classes of circuit types exist in digital
electronics. Firstly, there are the logic circuits, which act as directional switches, latches and
counters, and secondly, the multivibrators, which perform memory and timing functions.
Both of these circuit classes can be represented by various digital ICs. Most of the digital ICs
discussed in this section are manufactured in multiple unit packages in the form of 14 pin
DIL chips. The series 4000 CMOS logic family are commonly used in circuit applications
Truth table
Figure 31.18
Digital gates.
Logic Circuit Typical
gate symbol IC chip
Input A Input B Output CMOS
0 0 0
4081
A 0 1 0 quad
AND C
B 1 0 0 buffered
2-input
1 1 1
0 0 1
4011
A 0 1 1 quad
NAND C
B 1 0 1 2-input
1 1 0
0 0 0
4071
A 1 0 1 quad
OR C
B 0 1 1 2-input
1 1 1
0 0 1
4001
A 1 0 0 quad
NOR C
B 0 1 0 2-input
1 1 0
0 0 4050
Hex-non
Buffer A C 1 1 inverting
0 1 4049
Hex-
Inverter A C 1 0 inverting
(NOT)

with both quad (4) or hex (6) multiples available in the one IC package. Manufacturers make
available IC pin configuration diagrams that describe the necessary input, output and power
supply pin connections.
No matter how complicated, all digital ICs are made from simple building blocks called
logic gates or just gates, which are the equivalent of electronic switches. The circuits are
called logic gates because they make logical decisions with the output state being dependent
on the input states. Lets look at the basic set of logic gates, their inputoutput character-
istics or truth tables, and typical IC packages that contain them. (See Figure 31.18.)
Remember that 1 = digital ON or HIGH and 0 = digital OFF or LOW. In actual voltage terms, a
digital high represents the chip supply voltage and a digital low represents ground or zero
volts. Refer back to Chapter 24 (Section 24.2) for discussion of ADC.
Logic gates may have more than two inputs, which increases the decision-making power
of the gates. Multiple input gates can increase the number of ways that the logic functions
can be interconnected to form advanced digital logic circuit blocks. For example, Figure 31.19
shows the truth table for a 3 input NAND gate.
Figure 31.19 Figure 31.20
Three-input NAND gate. Three-state inverter.
Symbol Truth table Symbol Truth table
A B C Out Control In Out

control
0 0 0 1 0 0 1
A out in out
0 0 1 1 0 1 0
B
C 0 1 0 1 1 X Hi-Z
0 1 1 1 X means either 1 or 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0
Often the single input inverter designed to reverse the output from another gate can
have an extra control input, in which case it is called a three-state inverter (Figure 31.20).
Also, the buffer gate, which is a circuit that isolates gates from each other electrically or pro-
vides outputs that are capable of driving higher resistance loads, can have a control input as
well. This gate is called a three-state buffer (Figure 31.21). Three-state buffers and inverters
have an output that can be electronically disconnected from the rest of the circuitry. The
output then is neither high nor low, but floats and appears as a very high resistance.
Figure 31.21 Symbol Truth table

Three-state buffer.
Control In Out
control
0 0 0
in out 0 1 1
1 X Hi-Z
X means either 1 or 0
Logic gates can be interconnected in a network of gates referred to as logic circuits. The
methods of logic circuit connections can either be combinational or sequential.
Combinational logic circuits respond to incoming data pulses immediately and their
decisions do not depend on a series of previous logic events. Any combinational circuit can
be constructed using the basic NAND and NOR logic gates. For example, the combinational
logic circuit of Figure 31.22 and its truth table illustrate the process of converting a two-
bit binary number to its decimal equivalent. Advanced combinational networks are often
available as separate digital ICs; for example, data selectors (multiplexers) and digital
encodersdecoders, such as the 74HC154 CMOS 4 to 16 decoder/demultiplexer chip.
Sequential logic circuit outputs are determined by the previous states of the circuits
inputs. That is, data bits move through the circuits step-by-step. Often a separate clock pulse
Figure 31.22
A 0 Binary to decimal decoder (BCD).
B 1
2
A B 0 1 2 3
0 0 0 1 1 1
0 1 1 1 0 1
1 0 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 3
S Figure 31.23
RS Flip-flop (latch).
Q
S R Q Q
0 0 Disallowed
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
1 1 No change
(square wave) signal is required in order to make the data bits move. The basic building block
of sequential logic circuits is the Flip-flop. A basic reset-set Flip-flop circuit (RS Flip-flop),
also called a latch, is shown in Figure 31.23, together with its truth table. The outputs Q and

Q are always in opposite digital states. Flip-flop circuits can become quite complex and form
the basis of counters and registers as used in computer circuits.
Circuit designers use Boolean algebra statements to show the respective outputs of
logic gates. This algebra was invented by an English mathematician, George Boole, in the
middle of the nineteenth century as a system of analysing logic statements mathematically.
(See Figure 31.24.)
The Boolean operation AND is represented by a dot ( ).
The Boolean operation OR is represented by a plus sign (+).
The Boolean operation NOT or inversion is represented by a bar over the letter ( A).
Combinations of the Boolean operations are also possible; for example, the NAND gate
produces a combination of NOT and AND, whereas the NOR gate produces a combination of
NOT and OR.
Figure 31.25 illustrates two circuits that use chips combining both combination and Photo 31.3
sequential logic circuits. The block diagram shows the simple decimal counter system, which 4026 counter chip.
is able to count incoming clock pulses from a circuit such as the clock of Figure 31.14. The
BCD counter advances one count for each incoming pulse. When the count reaches binary
(1001) or decimal (9) the counter recycles to 0000. The decoder activates the appropriate
segments of a seven-segment LED display so that the count is obtained. Notice that a single
chip can replace the function of both counter and decoder driver. This is the CMOS 4026 chip.
Notice that this chip has a carry out (CO) pin that allows counts to other 4026 chips in order
to cascade them together so that a total count of hundreds or thousands is possible.
(See Photo 31.3.)

Figure 31.24 A .
y=A B A y=A+B
Boolean operators.
B B
AND gate OR gate
y=A
A
NOT (inverter)
A y=A B . A y=A+B
B B
NAND gate NOR gate
Figure 31.25 (a)

Decimal counting system:
7
(a) block diagram; (b) separate BCD to
BCD segment
chip circuit, 7490 + 7448; (c) single 7 segment
counter display
chip circuit, CMOS 4026 decade pulses decoder
counter-display driver.
LED
+5 V
(b)
5 16 270
12 13
clock 14 7 a a
in 1 b 12 b
1 c 11 c
9
7490
7448
d 10 d
2 8 e 9 e
3 2 f 15 f
11
6 6 g 14 g
7 10 8
common
cathode
+9 V
(c)
16
3 15 4103
clock 6 3
in 1 7 4
4026
9 6
2 10 13
11 5
8 12 12 9
5 13 11
2
47 k
CO
It is great fun to work with these digital counter and display driver chips. Using a proto-
board and simple LEDs to indicate output states of gates or logic circuits, much experimen-
tation can be done. Always be careful to observe correct power supply connections to all IC
chips and handle them with care, especially if the type you are using is a CMOS design.
An important circuit building tip for use with all digital logic circuits is to ensure that the
inputs and outputs of unused gates in an IC package are connected to earth. This will avoid
spurious noise signals triggering the gates falsely.
Questions
6 Select a simple application for a 741 Op-Amp. Sketch the circuit used including
chip power supply and explain the operation of the circuit.
7 Draw the symbols used to represent the following logic gates: (a) 2 input AND
gate; (b) 3 input NAND gate; (c) 2 input OR gate; (d) 3 state buffer.
8 The output of digital logic gates can be summarised with Boolean algebra
statements. Which gates correspond to the following statements in Boolean
algebra? Figure 31.26
For question 9.

(a) A + B; (b) A B; (c) A + B ; (d) A B C; (e) A .
input A
9 Figure 31.26 illustrates a combination of NAND gates. Deduce the truth table for
the combination and decide if it is equivalent to any single logic gate.
output
Y
Activity 31.2 BUILDING WITH ICs
If you have access to circuit building boards especially designed for ICs such as the
SK40 protoboards, then your teacher may supply you with some integrated circuits as input B
described in this text so that you can actually build some of the circuits. Remember to
always connect power supply voltages to the correct pins of the IC and connect the power
supply last of all. If you are using multiple gate digital chips always connect unused gate
inputs and outputs low to avoid false triggering.
Practice questions
*10 Explain the differences in AC circuits between resistance, capacitive and
inductive reactance. How are these concepts linked to impedance?
*11 For the circuit of Figure 31.27, calculate (a) capacitive reactance, XC; (b) total
circuit impedance, Z; (c) the RMS current flowing; (d) the phase angle between
current and voltage.
Figure 31.27
R = 470 For question 11.
VAC
6V C = 0.2 F
1200 Hz
**12 Explain the function of each of the resistors used in a voltage divider common
emitter class A transistor amplifier. Draw the common circuit diagram for this
amplifier, marking all necessary connections including power supply.
**13 Calculate all necessary circuit component values in the design of a single
transistor amplifier if it is to operate with the following parameters: VCC = 12 V,
= 280 and IC (max) = 18 mA. Sketch your designed circuit and estimate its
voltage gain.

Figure 31.28 *14 Figure 31.28 illustrates the input waveforms applied to an AND gate. Correctly
For question 14. draw, at the same scale, the output waveform of this gate.
**15 An AC source (f = 100 Hz) is connected in series with a resistor of 1000 .
A A C (a) Draw a circuit diagram.
B (b) If the peak voltage is 12 V, plot a curve (Vt) for three cycles of the
B
waveform. What is the peak current value?
**16 Suppose you wish to build an AC powered battery replacement circuit for your
portable Walkman player so that it can be used at your study desk. Draw a
circuit that would provide the necessary 9 V output. Your circuit must be capable
of supplying about 120 mA of smooth output current.
**17 Figure 31.29 illustrates a circuit that could be used as an automatic night light
switch. The circuit automatically switches on the LED when darkness falls or
when the sensor is covered.
(a) Identify each electronic component used in this circuit and make a listing.
(b) When it is dark how does the resistance of the LDR alter?
(c) Explain how the circuit works!
(d) What is the purpose of the potentiometer at the input A of the circuit?
(e) What is the function of the switch in the input B of the circuit?
Figure 31.29 + Vcc (6 V)

For question 17.
5M
B
C
A
390
LDR

***18 The circuit of Figure 31.30 contains an AC source of 50 Hz, 6.0 V. If the capacitor
has a value of 65 F:
(a) what is the total impedance, ZAB;
(b) what is the total circuit impedance if the source internal impedance is 5 ohms;
(c) what is the RMS current flowing in the circuit;
(d) what is the value of RMS voltage between points A and B?
Figure 31.30 C
A
For question 18.
15
6.0 V
50 Hz
B L 22 mH
***19 Consider Figure 31.31. Recall that a magnet moved inside a coil of wire will
generate a small AC voltage. Look at the circuit diagrams supplied and analyse
them to answer these questions:
(a) How is the simple rectifier power supply working?
(b) Why is it needed in this circuit application, and how is it connected?
(c) How is the Op-Amp modifying the signal produced when the magnet is
moved into the multi-turn coil?
(d) What will occur when the circuit variable resistor is adjusted? Figure 31.31
(e) To what range would the multimeter need to be set? For question 19.
N +
+V 741
S

+ 10 k
9V 470 F

AC
0V multi-turn
+ solenoid 1 k
470 F
multimeter
V
**20 In Boolean algebra, an exclusive OR (XOR) function is represented by the plus

symbol inside a circle (). An XOR gate produces a digital high (1) output only
when one of its inputs is high (1). If both inputs are either high or low then
the output is low. Draw a logic gate circuit diagram that would represent the
following Boolean algebra statements:

(a) Y = A + B + C

(b) Y = A B

(c) Y = A B
***21 Consider Figure 31.32, showing the circuit of a Quad NAND gate CMOS IC, the
4011 operating from a 9 V DC supply. The circuit is one method of testing the
truth table for the NAND logic gate. Analyse the circuit given and answer these
questions:
(a) Would the 9 V DC supply need to be regulated?
(b) How many different gates could be tested?
(c) What is the purpose of the flying leads?
(d) Why are the resistors needed?
(e) Explain how the three LEDs display the input and output combinations of
the gate. Draw a truth table.
(f) Could this circuit be used to test other gate types? Explain.
+9 V DC
Figure 31.32
flying For question 21.
leads
1 in A1 in B3
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
8
CMOS 4011 2 in B1 9 in A3
3 out 1 10 out 3
All 220
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
4 out 2 11 out 4
5 in A2 12 in B4
6 in B2 13 in A4
7 Vss (0 V) 14 VDD
LED
0V
4011 CMOS
pins

CHAPTER 32
Solar Physics
INTRODUCTION 32.1
As you awake one morning, a cheery radio weather presenter announces:
The weather forecast this morning is for moderate to high temperatures, sunlight early yielding
620 watts per square metre rising to 980 watts per square metre on the coast and 1100 watts per
square metre inland. Those in southern regions will require battery reserves.
In the future, this scenario could prove true for communities that have their electrical power
generation supplemented by solar energy. The Earths star is a self-sustaining nuclear fusion
reactor whose output is an incredible 4 1026 W, of which central Australia receives only
about 1.0 103 W m2 on the ground. If the nuclear reactions in the Suns core were to be
switched off now, it would be 10 million years before the outer solar surface started to cool
and before the Earth would feel the effects. Such is the power of the Sun!
Even animals are affected by solar processes. On 7 July 1988, 3000 homing pigeons were
released from cages in northern France for their annual race back home towards southern
England. Two days before, unusual solar flare activity had sent vast clouds of charged protons
and subatomic particles into space, some of which disrupted the Earths magnetic field
patterns. In poor weather the pigeons used internal magnetic compasses to guide them.
Misled by the solar disturbances caused to the Earths magnetism, the pigeons flew way off
course. Most of the 3000 never returned!
Solar physics is the study of the Suns energy processes and the ways in which modern
technology can use both its heat and its light. One of the best examples of solar technology
assisting engineering was the feat of American aeronautical engineer Paul MacCready, who
designed the famous Solar challenger human-powered aircraft. In July 1981, Steve Ptacek
pedalled this aircraft, whose wings were covered with solar cells on their upper surfaces, over
262 km from Cormeilles en Vexin near Paris, across the English Channel to Manson in Kent.
In this chapter we will look at the Sun itself, the major methods of obtaining energy from
the Sun, both passively and actively, as well as one of the main dangers to the health of all
Australians, namely, ultraviolet radiation.
S O L A R R A D I AT I O N 32.2
The Sun as a star
Our Sun, called Sol, dominates the planetary system that includes the Earth. The Sun provides
the input energy for most of the food webs that make up our natural environment. The
Sun radiates energy at the tremendous rate of 4.0 1026 W, of which the Earth receives
approximately 1.8 1017 W at its outer atmosphere. About half of this actually reaches the
ground and provides the driving energy for our climate and weather systems as well as the
photosynthetic requirements of plants as the food chain producers.
Solar Physics 731

The Sun has been studied scientifically since the time of Galileo (1611), who used the
first telescopes to discover sunspots on its surface. Table 32.1 lists the physical data of the
Sun. It is a very average star by comparison with those in the rest of the universe and is about
half-way through its lifespan middle-aged you might say, with only about 4.5 billion years
left to keep radiating its energy. Our next nearest stellar neighbour is the bright star in the
Centaurus (pointers) constellation called Alpha Centauri, at 4.3 light-years distance.
Ta b l e 3 2 . 1 S O L A R DATA
Diameter 1.39 109 m Spectral type G
Mass 1.99 1030 kg Mean distance 149 597 000 km
(8.3 light-minutes)
Specific gravity 1.409 Rotation period 25.38 days
(equatorial)
Axial inclination 7 15 Absolute magnitude +4.71
Effective temperature 5800 K Escape velocity 617.5 km s1
(black body)
In 1814 the German physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer used a spectroscope to break the Photo 32.1
Suns light radiation up into its component wavelengths and examined it carefully. Recall that Suns surface features.
Isaac Newton had also performed spectral dispersion with a prism as early as 1666.
Fraunhofers spectral analysis enabled an explanation of the solar atmosphere. He found that
the continuous emission spectrum of the Sun was crossed by a complex set of dark lines. It
was Gustav Kirchhoff in 1859 who showed that these dark Fraunhofer lines were actually
absorption lines caused by atoms present in the low pressure solar atmosphere lying between
the Suns source of light, called the photosphere, and the experimental observer. By com-
paring these lines with the emission spectra of known elements on Earth, it was shown that
the Sun itself contains most of the known elements. The inert gas helium was named because
of this. In 1889 the American astronomer George E. Hale invented the spectroheliograph
(Greek helios = Sun), which enabled the Sun to be studied in the light emitted by one
element alone, such as the light of hydrogen or calcium. Today, spectral filters can do much
the same job.
Like all stars, the Sun is composed mostly of hydrogen, together with helium (27%) and
other heavy elements (2%). At the core of the Sun, the temperature is 16 000 000 K and has
a density about 150 times that of water. In these conditions hydrogen nuclei fuse to produce
helium via reactions called nuclear fusion. The solar nuclear fusion process is actually a series
of three collisions between atomic particles called the protonproton cycle. The three colli-
sion processes are not of equal probability but end up fusing four hydrogen nuclei (protons)
into one helium nucleus. As the final helium nucleus is only 99.3% as massive as the original
four protons the missing energy appears as gamma rays and a neutrino according to Einsteins
E = mc2 formula. The neutrino is totally unreactive and escapes the Sun very quickly, while
the gamma rays may bounce around internally for millions of years. Even though the time-
scale for the protonproton cycle is large, the staggering number of particles in the Sun
means a massive amount of total energy is continuously released via gamma rays that radiate
outward toward the convection layers of the Sun. It is in this outer one-third of the Suns
volume that large-scale convective turbulence not only reduces the temperature but produces
most of the Suns radiation energy. The photosphere is the top surface of these convection
cells, which give it a mottled appearance called solar granulation. The granulated cells
on the photosphere last typically for 515 minutes and are about 2000 km in diameter. The
temperature of the photosphere is about 6000C. The German-born American physicist Hans
Bethe was awarded the 1967 Nobel prize for physics for his work on the fusion cycle reactions
that are the source of the Suns tremendous energy production.

Sunspots
Sunspots are smaller regions of the photosphere that are, on average, 2000C cooler than
their surroundings and depressed into the surface slightly. They tend to occur in pairs. In
1908 George E. Hale discovered that they contain very strong magnetic fields, with each pair
containing magnetic flux that points in opposite directions, either into or out of the Suns
interior. A sunspot cycle occurs, in which the number of sunspots varies from a maximum to
a minimum over an 11-year cycle. As a new 11-year cycle begins, the magnetic polarity of the
leading sunspot of each pair in each hemisphere of the Suns surface reverses. This represents
a full solar cycle of 22 years. Sunspots forming early in the cycle in each hemisphere tend to
start at higher latitudes (45) than sunspots later in the cycle (10). These cyclic changes
seem to indicate a definite connection between the Suns magnetic field, the convection zone
in the Suns outer layers, and the Suns rotation period itself, which is faster at its equator
than at its poles.
Solar flares and prominences

The Suns chromosphere (Greek chroma = colour) rises to about 9600 km above the photo-
sphere, with an average density about one thousand times less than the photosphere and a
temperature of about 30 000 K. Elements in the chromosphere absorb light and produce the
Fraunhofer lines in the Suns emission spectrum. The upper layer is not uniform but produces
spicules or high temperature gas plasma eruptions that are continuously penetrating the
outer layer or corona (Greek corona = crown). Because of the continuous agitation, plasma
particles are being thrown off into space, causing the solar wind, which eventually reaches
the Earth. Near sunspots the chromosphere radiation is more active, producing very rapid
releases of magnetic energy and plasma particles called solar flares. Among the phenomena
that accompany solar flares are intense X-rays, radio waves and other energetic particles
that may also eventually reach the Earth to cause auroral displays and disrupt radio and
telecommunications services.
The corona extends for several solar radii from the disc of the Sun itself. All the structural
detail within the corona is due to the solar magnetic field. The corona is at a very high
temperature of about 1 000 000C indicating very high particle velocities. Occasionally,
the corona traps low temperature plasma emissions on a large scale from the chromosphere.
These produce prominences, which may extend out from the Suns surface for hundreds of
thousands of kilometres and are best seen during periods of solar eclipses at the edge of the
Suns disc. These prominences can also release tremendous numbers of particles into the solar
wind. The largest recorded could have swallowed the Earth many times over.
Solar radiation at the Earth

The Earth receives a constant energy flow from the Sun of about 1.23 1017 W (122 500 TW).
Figure 32.1 As the Earth gains thermal energy its temperature will rise but, like any hot body, its rate
Solar and terrestrial energy emissions.
of energy emission also increases with temperature. If the received and emitted thermal
energies were equal in wavelength this would lead to an average equilibrium temperature of
l e
ib
UV infrared about 17C for the Earth. Fortunately, the Earth reradiates its thermal energy at much longer
vis
Energy (arbitrary units)
wavelengths, as shown in Figure 32.1. These longer wavelengths are absorbed by the atmos-
pheric water vapour and carbon dioxide. This absorbed energy is reradiated with about 85%
solar
of it returning to further heat the Earth to an average global value of 15C (288 K). This
effect is called the greenhouse effect and without it most life forms on Earth would die. The
terrestrial commonly held view that the greenhouse effect is bad stems from a misunderstanding of the
basic effect. Modern technology needs to be applied to reduce the emissions of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere. This will prevent an increase in the natural greenhouse effect,
0.2 0.51.0 2.0 5 10 20 50100 which would lead to a rise in average temperatures or global warming. The planet Venus has
Wavelength (m) an atmosphere of dense carbon dioxide, which produces a surface temperature of 470C
through its natural greenhouse effect. Let us hope the Earth never gets to this point.
Solar Physics 733

Feb Mar May June Aug Sept Nov Dec Figure 32.2
4 21 6 22 8 23 8 22 Variation of solar radiation.
90 N
500
80
0 0
70
50 50
60 100 100
150 150
50 200 200
250 250
40
300 300
30 350 350
400 400
20 450
10
Latitude
400
0
10 350
300
20
450 250
30 200
450
40 150
500 500
50 100
50
60
70 0
80
550
550
90S
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
The variation with latitude and time of year of the maximum amount of solar
radiation (in kW m2) received on a horizontal surface at sea level
Figure 32.2 illustrates the variation with latitude and time of year of the maximum solar
radiation received (kW m2) on a horizontal surface at sea level. The global average value is
about 200 W m2. The lack of symmetry between the two hemispheres is due to the slight
ellipticity of the Earths orbit, which results in the shortest distance to the Sun (perihelion)
occurring on 4 January and the greatest distance (aphelion) on 5 July. At any particular loca-
tion the solar radiation flux is determined by the time of day, the season, and the geographi-
cal latitude. Weather provides an unpredictable element. Under clear skies the radiant energy
will be mostly direct, with only about 15% being diffuse, while under overcast conditions,
obviously 100% of the radiant energy is diffuse. Australia is particularly lucky, with its solar
radiant energy flux being more direct and constant than most countries, with peak maxima
rising as high as 1.4 kW m2.
In order to exploit solar energy, designers of solar devices must contend with several
factors:
relatively low power density available
variation in the availability of solar radiation
low efficiency of various conversion techniques to other energy forms such as direct
thermal or electrical.
In the rest of this chapter, we will examine some of the ways in which solar energy can be
converted into other forms. These will primarily be by photothermal techniques concerned
with the active and passive collection of solar radiation as heat, and photovoltaic techniques
concerned with the direct conversion of solar radiation into electricity.

Questions
1 If the average solar radiation at a Western Queensland location is 600 W m2,
calculate the total solar collector area needed at this site to generate 100 MW,
assuming solarelectrical conversion efficiency of 9%.
2 Explain the interaction of the solar radiation with the Earths atmosphere that
allows a global average temperature equilibrium of 15C.
3 Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Research
their predominant sources, both artificial and natural, and comment on their
effect on global warming.
4 List reasons for the fact that about 30% of incident solar radiation is reflected
back into space from the Earth.
5 Discuss any link that exists between these three statements of fact:
The 1987 Montreal protocol called for a halving of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
emissions by the end of the twentieth century.
Stratospheric ozone blocks incident ultraviolet solar radiation that is less
than 300 nm in wavelength and dangerous to living organisms.
Since about 1975, marked ozone depletion has occurred in the stratosphere
over Antarctica each spring the ozone hole.
6 Assume you are sunbathing at noon in summer when the direct solar radiation flux
is 850 W m2. Estimate the total radiation incident on your body in 20 minutes.
How would this change at a later time when the Sun is 50 above the horizon?
7 Using Figure 32.2, what is the difference in solar radiation received at a latitude
of 60 on the date of 8 August in both hemispheres? What accounts for this
difference?
P H OTOT H E R M A L D E V I C E S 32.3
Architectural design
How often have you noticed the build-up of heat and general stuffiness of a closed room with
sun shining into it through the windows? Have you ever used a magnifying glass to burn
holes in paper? These two effects illustrate the passive and active aspects of solar heating.
The term photothermal device is used to describe a device that passively or actively converts
solar radiation into heat. Architects today are very interested in aspects of passive solar
design, which uses the materials of the house itself as well as modifications to its surround-
ings to efficiently collect, store and distribute solar energy, thus allowing large electrical
energy savings in the general heating and cooling systems. It represents a very natural
approach.
Architects may also use active solar design systems, which typically use solar collectors
for heating water, thermal masses such as rock-beds and Trombe walls, as well as forced
ventilation of solar heated air. These will be discussed later in the chapter. The Australian
CSIRO has been very active in solar design elements for general housing, as well as showing
the way for larger industrial applications, such as hybrid solar/diesel power stations and solar
power towers. At Highett, in Victoria, CSIRO maintains a low-energy-consumption home
(LECH), which is used for solar principle demonstrations and practical research.
Consider Figure 32.3, which illustrates a range of passive solar design architectural
aspects. Let us take each of the labelled parts in turn.
1 Considerably larger window area on the northern side This aims to catch sunlight in
winter, and also, by incorporating verandahs, pergolas or overhang, to provide shade from
the higher summer sun. In Queensland especially, even early colonial houses tended to have
wide cooling verandahs. The roof design contains insulated fibreglass batts or loose fill in the
ceiling with reflective aluminium foil against the undersides of the tiles. Note also the
Solar Physics 735

N 1 Figure 32.3
4 summer Passive solar design aspects for
(A domestic housing.
roof design l) f tiles
oi winter
bats l overha
ng
lounge
kitchen
lounge
dining
W E
air pelmet
bedroom bedroom
5
glass
full
length
windows and double curtains
3 2 curtains glazing
S
general living areas of the house are on the northern side, while the bedrooms, for nightly
warmth, are on the southern side.
2 Minimum window area on the southern side This will reduce energy loss in winter.
Windows are double glazed with the use of heavy curtains and pelmets to prevent direct air
flow against the cold windows.
3 Heavy concrete base for thermal stability and mass storage Brick walls often with a cavity
(double brick) for air insulation are used. The large base thermal mass heats slowly on hot
days and will not lose heat quickly on cold nights. Ideally there are no windows at all on the
western side to block entry of afternoon sun and cold winter winds. The flooring of most
rooms should assist thermal insulation, especially in southern states, with thick underlay and
carpets. P H Y S I C S FA C T
4 External planting of evergreen trees and shrubs on the western side This provides sun and The Australian National
wind-breaks. Deciduous trees provide shade in summer at the front of the house, but lose University (ANU) hopes to build
leaves in winter to let in the light and heat from the Sun. the worlds largest combined
5 Minimum window area on eastern side Pergolas or awnings are also used. Ground cover solar hot water and electricity
plants or grass, rather than reflective concrete, are used to prevent morning light reflection, system for one of its own
especially during summer months. buildings, called Bruce Hall.
Consider Figure 32.4, illustrating the principles of active solar design. In part (a), the In the developing system, built
house design incorporates a large thermal mass rock-bed base down into which is fan-forced in conjunction with Rheem
hot air from the roof-top solar collector. During cold nights the rock-bed slowly releases its Australia-Solarhart, Sun-tracking
parabolic mirrors concentrate
stored thermal energy. In part (b), the house design incorporates a Trombe wall, which can
sunlight by a factor of about
be thought of as a solar operated storage heater. A thermally massive blackened wall is placed
30 times and shine it onto
behind glazing on the north-facing side of the house. The diagram shows how both cool and thermal solar receivers mounted
warm air circulate through the house via ducts and shutter flaps, depending on whether house with solar cells that convert the
cooling or heating is required. In some systems the Trombe wall is filled with water to achieve sunlight directly into electricity
the same degree of thermal storage capacity. with about 20% efficiency.
The system is called CHAPS
Solar hot water systems (combined heat and power
solar) and will completely
Most household solar heating is achieved with flat plate collectors, as shown in Figure 32.5 supply the building with
and Figure 32.6. A number of collectors are placed onto the roof (north-facing) and attached electricity and hot water.
to the hot water plumbing system. The maximum operating temperature for these collectors
is about 80C. If it is made to operate at higher temperatures, radiation and convective
losses increase dramatically. CSIRO developed a Teflon strip system to help to reduce convec-
tive losses in these flat plate collectors. In this system a series of parallel vertical thin strips
of Teflon film run up and down the slope of the solar collector about 5 mm apart between the
glass cover and the absorber. This addition increased operating efficiency considerably.

Figure 32.4
Active solar design: (a) solar air heating
and rock-bed; (b) Trombe wall design.
(a) glass panel (b)
incident
roof cavity radiation
solar air
heater
masonry/concrete
fan shell of room
flap
flap
S bedrooms living rooms N
concrete floor slab

rock bed
storage mass ground level
flap
glazed wall
ground level
cooling mode heating mode
warm air
cool air
Figure 32.5
Flat plate solar collector
cross-section. ;;;;;
;;;;;
incident
absorber (black)
;;;;;
reflection
convective loss heated water
loss out (top)
radiation
;;;;;
;;;;;
loss
glass plate
cover
insulation
base
cold water
in (base)
convective cavity (may contain limiting strips)
Figure 32.6
Thermosyphon solar water heater. hot water
ity
;;;;;;;;;;
apac
arge c
nk l
ag e ta copper tubing
stor
;;;;;;;;;;
hot supply out
;;;;;;;;;;
plumbing
cold
supply in
;;;;;;;;;;
co
ld
wa
ter
;;;;;;;;;;
base
la tion
insu
slope > 10
top cover plate
Solar Physics 737

In Australia, the commonest design of solar hot water system uses the thermosyphon PHYSICS FACT
principle. A solar collector mounted on the roof is connected to a horizontal cylindrical WORLDS LARGEST SOLAR CELL
storage tank. Cold water flowing into the collector pipes is heated and displaced upward by The Second World Conference on
Photovoltaic Solar Energy
the cooler, more dense water. This natural convection flow produces a thermosyphon flow
Conversion, held in Vienna, July
without the need for artificial pumps. The top of the collector sits below the bottom of the 1998, announced the production
storage tank and the roof slope must exceed 10 for the thermosyphon effect to be efficient. of the worlds largest thin-film
In winter months a booster electric element situated in the top of the storage cylinder can crystalline silicon solar cell.
be switched on to complete the heating of the top layers of water, if necessary. The solar It is manufactured by the
collector should be angled to face the Sun. The angle is approximately equal to the latitude, Australian firm Pacific Solar in
so in Brisbane they are angled at 30, while in Cairns the angle is 17. conjunction with UNSWs
Photovoltaics Special Research
Although solar heating is becoming more efficient with design improvements, it is
Centre.
still only marginally economical in many countries where low levels of sunlight are received. Each solar module is
Even in Australia, to power large systems with flat plate solar collectors is an unlikely future 30 40 cm and has a planned
proposition. Larger industrial photothermal mechanisms that are in use in various parts of the efficiency of 15%, with an
world are called concentrating collectors and include power towers, solar farms, heliostat active cell thickness of 10 m.
arrays and solar ponds. You might research some of the worlds largest! Pacific Solar hopes soon to be
able to produce 1.0 m2 solar
cells.
32.4 P H OTOV O LTA I C S
Probably the most efficient use of solar radiation is to convert it directly to electricity.
Semiconductor materials can provide the direct conversion of the Suns radiation to electrical
energy under suitable conditions. Photovoltaic cells made from thin slices of silicon, The University of New South
gallium arsenide or other semiconductors were first developed in the 1950s for use in satellites Wales Photovoltaic Research
as clean, lightweight, safe and reliable sources of electrical power. In 1954 the first solar bat- Centres recent work has led to
development of the multilayer
tery, as it was called, was invented by D. M. Chapin, C. S. Fuller and G. L. Pearson, working as
solar cell. This innovative cell
a team at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, USA, as an extension of their work on transistors. structure has the potential to
Today, solar cells, as they are more commonly called, are manufactured by numerous com- overcome the efficiency limits
panies and form the basis of many remote area electrical power installations. of amorphous solar cells while
Recall from Chapter 29 that the photoelectric effect required a vacuum tube and an maintaining low processing
external source of EMF in the photoemission circuit to allow the flow of a photocurrent. The costs. Such a development could
advantage of the photovoltaic effect is that no vacuum environment is needed and the make solar cells far more cost-
competitive with conventional
photovoltaic cell generates its own EMF. Early photographic light meters, such as the Weston
generators such as coal-fired
cell, consisted of a selenium or cadmium sulfide layer deposited on metallic iron. Incident power stations.
light photons passed through the selenium layer, promoting electrons from the iron metallic A conventional solar cell is
base into the selenium conductor and generating an EMF across the junction. The iron formed 350 m thick and consists of
the positive electrode and the selenium formed the negative electrode of the photovoltaic just one layer of P-type silicon
cell. A sensitive galvanometer was used to display the electron current generated in the and one layer of N-type silicon
circuit and this was directly proportional to the intensity of the incident light. The gal- sandwiched together to form a
PN junction. (A human hair is
vanometer movement could be readily calibrated in terms of exposure values directly.
about 50 m wide.) A multilayer
The silicon solar cell is the most widely used photovoltaic device today. Solar cells can be solar cell only 15 m in width,
made in two ways. In one method, amorphous (solid) silicon is layered directly onto however, consists of up to 10
glass, with the rear being protected with a clear acrylic laminate. In the other method, very thin alternate layers of
monocrystalline silicon wafers are placed behind glass plates to protect them against P-type and N-type silicon
physical shock as this form is particularly brittle. The amorphous type is more expensive but deposited onto glass to give
is more robust. The solar arrays used in the 1990 World Solar Challenge race by its eventual several PN junctions. It is this
multilayer structure that enables
winner, the Spirit of Biel Bienne from Switzerland, were made of monocrystalline silicon cells
moderate efficiencies to be
developed by the Centre for Photovoltaic Devices and Systems at the University of NSW, achieved with low-quality
Sydney, directed by Professor Martin Green. These green cells, made for the Spirit car, used material, since each light-
laser grooved solar cells to maximise efficiency, which in the race peaked at 17%. In typical generated charge carrier does
solar racing conditions the array averaged an output of 980 W, enabling the winning time not have very far to travel to
from Darwin to Adelaide (3007 km) to be recorded at 46 hours 8 minutes. reach a PN junction.
On 22 August 1995, the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico confirmed that a
thin solar cell made at the University of New South Wales from crystalline silicon had
achieved an efficiency of 21.5%. This was an improvement on the 1994 record of 17% set by

researchers at the Australian National University. To qualify as a thin device, the cell had to
be less than 50 m thick about the thickness of a human hair. The record-breaking solar
cell tested in New Mexico was about 47 m thick. The UNSW team also holds the current
record for the most efficient conventional solar cell at 24%. At over 400 m thick, however,
these cells require nearly 10 times as much silicon as the 25% thin type.
incident photons
Figure 32.7
Action of a silicon solar cell. 0.5 m
e
;;;;;;;

N
PN
;;;;;;;
junction + + +

load
;;;;;;;
+ 0.44 V
+ + +
P
+ e
Refer to Figure 32.7, illustrating the typical photovoltaic action in a silicon solar cell. It
represents a PN junction with an external circuit connected across it. Silicon atoms require
incident photon wavelengths in the near infrared region of the spectrum ( = 106 m) to
dislodge electrons in the crystal lattice. When light is incident on the exposed thin N-type
surface, most pass through into the PN junction layer. The photon energy is transferred to the
electrons that are dislodged from the atoms, producing electron-hole pairs in the junction
region. The electric field in this region forces uncombined electrons into the N-type layer and
Figure 32.8 equivalent holes are left in the P-type layer. This generates the EMF source of 0.44 V, which
(a) Solar cell power curve. produces an electron flow in the external circuit. It should be noted that the layers of N-type
(b) Current and voltage output
of a single solar cell under and P-type semiconductor in the diagram could be reversed and the cell would operate just
varying light levels. as efficiently.
(a) A typical single-crystal silicon PV cell of 100 cm2 will produce about 1.5 W of power at
0.5 V DC and 3 A under full summer sunlight (1000 W m2). The power output of the cell is
almost directly proportional to the intensity of the sunlight. (For example, if the intensity of
Power transfer
the sunlight is halved, the power will also be halved.) Figure 32.8(b) shows the current and
voltage output of a solar cell at different light intensities.
An important feature of PV cells is that the voltage of the cell does not depend on its size,
and remains fairly constant with changing light intensity. However, the current in a PV device
VDC is almost directly proportional to light intensity and size. When people want to compare dif-
12 V 20 V
ferent-sized cells, they record the current density, or amps per square centimetre of cell area.
Solar cells of this type can be constructed in panels that can be connected together in
(b)
series to increase available voltage, as well as in parallel to increase the current capability.
2.0 Practical solar panels are manufactured with useful voltage and power ratings. The power rat-
Current (amperes)
1.5 2 suns (2000 W.m-2) ing of a solar panel is directly related to its physical size. The rated voltage of a solar panel
1 sun (1000 W.m-2)
1.0 is not its open circuit voltage, however. For example, a 12 V panel usually has an open circuit
0.5 suns (500 W.m-2)
0.5 -2
0.25 suns (250 W.m ) voltage of between 18 V and 23 V, but delivers its output power most efficiently at 12 V
0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 (Figure 32.8(a)). If you search various electronics stores youll find that most solar
Voltage (volts)
panels are rated at either 6 V or 12 V. The company BP Solar Australia, which sells solar cells
to the biggest user in the world, Telstra, makes available a range of solar panels for serious
electrical energy applications, such as the 32 cell 12 V 5.5 W unit through to the 36 cell 12 V
60 W unit covering 0.6 m2. These panels, coupled with DC regulators, make ideal auxiliary
charging systems for batteries in domestic, automotive and boating applications.
Questions
8 Explain the difference between a photothermal device and a photovoltaic device.
Give an example of each.
9 Consider Figure 32.3. Explain any advantages or disadvantages of planting trees
across the rear of the house.
Solar Physics 739

photon Figure 32.9

electron current
For question 10.
flow
N-type anti-reflection coating
(0.20.5) m and contact grid
electron
Si atom hole
0.44 V
P-type
(> 300 m)
ohmic back contact
holeelectron
recombination
10 Figure 32.9 represents a cross-sectional diagram of an actual NP silicon solar

cell. Explain each of the diagram labels shown in order to illustrate the
principles of operation.
11 Photovoltaic action is a type of photoelectric effect. How do the two actions differ?
12 You are designing a solar car with a total roof area for solar cells of 6.4 m2.
Calculate the electrical power available, assuming total cell efficiency of 17% and
a constant solar flux of 980 W m2. Explain how this calculated power would vary
in the actual operation of your car. What advantage would using the latest thin
cells provide?
32.5 U LT R AV I O L E T R A D I AT I O N
UV spectrum
Australia has one of the worlds highest potentials for the use of solar energy, but in recent
years the abundance of this energy has led to concern over its medical problems as well.
Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is electromagnetic energy that has wavelengths stretching from
400 nm, the wavelength of violet visible light, through to 1.0 nm, the wavelength of long
X-rays. UV radiation can be harmful to living things, especially at wavelengths shorter than
300 nm. Ultraviolet sterilisation of surfaces uses wavelengths less than 310 nm because it
kills bacteria and viruses. In humans, unprotected exposure to UV radiation can cause sun-
burn and eventually skin cancer, but it is not entirely harmful, as a large proportion of
the necessary vitamin D that we need for good health is produced by skin irradiated with
ultraviolet rays. Tanning of the skin is produced by gradual UV exposure. Delayed tanning is
a result of melanin production in the skin as a response to UV radiation exposure. Photo-
damage, including premature wrinkling and aging of the skin, is a result of chronic exposure
to UV radiation. No amount of tanning, however, will decrease the possibility of skin cancers
developing, which is a common misconception held by the so-called bronzed Aussie brigade.
Ultraviolet radiation is also used to erase programmable (EPROM) chips in computers as
well as cause certain dyes and inks to fluoresce in applications such as black light signature
readers in banks and special effects lights at the local disco. Ultraviolet radiation is produced
artificially mainly by vapour discharge tubes or electric arc lamps, whereas the major source
of natural UV radiation is, of course, the Sun.
In terms of the solar spectrum, ultraviolet radiation is classified as:
soft or UV-A radiation with wavelengths between 400 nm and 315 nm
hard or UV-B radiation with wavelengths between 315 nm and 290 nm
UV-C radiation with wavelengths less than 290 nm.

Although UV-B radiation is the most dangerous ionising form, as it can strip electrons
from atoms in its path, it is generally considered today that both UV-A and UV-B can
contribute to sunburn and more harmful skin cancer development. Hence, the development
of broad-spectrum sunscreens that will effectively block both bands for a given period of
time under the right conditions. Ordinary window glass is opaque to a large portion of the
UV spectrum, particularly short wavelengths. Special UV glass is transparent to the longer
wavelengths.
The Earths atmosphere protects living organisms from the majority of solar UV radiation.
The ozone layer of the atmosphere absorbs most of the incident wavelengths, especially the
shorter band. Ozone is a colourless gas present in the upper atmosphere. Although scientists
are concerned about the ozone hole in the Earths atmosphere, the gas itself is far less
welcome at ground level. Ozone arises artificially from the interaction of vehicle exhaust
gases, such as nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, with sunlight. Ozone can
be detected by humans at about eight parts per billion (8 ppb), and it smells like weak
chlorine. At 50 ppb it causes headaches, while above concentrations of 120 ppb, eye and
mucous membrane irritation develops. Ozone is a very strong photochemical oxidant and it
attacks and damages many materials including rubber, cellulose, dyes and organic paint
binders. The US Environmental Protection Agency states that humans should not be exposed
to ozone levels greater than 120 ppb (averaged per hour). Ozone levels often exceed 200 ppb,
however, in many of the worlds largest cities.
Ultraviolet monitoring
The monitoring and experimental analysis of incident solar UV radiation can be carried out
with simple photodiode detectors such as the Vital Technology BW-10 monitor, which formed
the basis of an Australia-wide monitoring network set up by the University of Canberra. Table
32.2 lists the instrument specifications.
Ta b l e 3 2 . 2 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S O F T H E B W- 1 0 M O N I TO R
Size 2.35 3.5 0.9 outside dimensions
Weight 195 g
Battery life 8000 hours typical (9 V alkaline)
Frequency response Weighted 290 nm to 365 nm (CIE human skin response)
Dynamic range 0.1 to 9.9 AES skin damaging UV units (CIE weighted)
LCD display type 2 digit transreflective twisted nematic
AD converter Auto zero, temperature coefficient (1 ppm/C)
Detectordiffuser Extended range photodiode, Teflon diffuser
This simple device is calibrated in atmospheric environmental skin damaging units on a

range of 0.0 to 9.9 with the highest corresponding to an incident UV radiation of
250 mW m2. The scale units can be converted using the figures in Table 32.3 after readings
have been taken. Data collected on a permanent basis can be collated and examined for
long-term trends over a wide area of Australia. A typical set of monitoring results is shown in
Table 32.4, obtained by high school students in Wynnum, Queensland (latitude 27 30 S,
longitude 153 E, elevation 20 m). Notice that combined UV, indirect UV, cloud cover and
other atmospheric data are valuable in this type of research. Not only can this type of instru-
ment be used for general UV monitoring but it can also form the basis of experimental design
into such research topics as sunscreen testing, surface reflectivity, efficiency of sunglasses
and effects of UV radiation on plant growth. Refer to the suggested activity and check with
your teacher whether your school has a UV monitor.
Solar Physics 741

Ta b l e 3 2 . 3 B W- 1 0 C O N V E R S I O N S
In the table below: Type I skin = Fair. Type VI = Olive-Dark. E.g. if the meter reads 5.0, a safe
exposure time in the sun is 21 minutes for Fair, and 75 minutes for Dark skin.
AES MINUTES BY SKIN TYPE mW/m 2

# I II III IV V VI
0.2 520 700 960 1167 1427 1880 5
0.4 260 350 480 583 713 940 10
0.6 173 233 320 389 476 627 15
0.8 130 175 240 292 357 470 20
1.0 104 140 192 233 285 376 25
1.2 87 117 160 194 238 313 30
1.4 74 100 137 167 204 269 35
1.6 65 88 120 146 178 235 40
1.8 58 78 107 130 159 209 45
2.0 52 70 96 117 143 188 50
2.2 47 64 87 106 130 171 55
2.4 43 58 80 97 119 157 60
2.6 40 54 74 90 110 145 65
2.8 37 50 69 83 102 134 70
3.0 35 47 64 78 95 125 75
3.2 33 44 60 73 89 118 80
3.4 31 41 56 69 84 111 85
3.6 29 39 53 65 79 104 90
3.8 27 37 51 61 75 99 95
4.0 26 35 48 58 71 94 100
4.2 25 33 46 56 68 90 105
4.4 24 32 44 53 65 85 110
4.6 23 30 42 51 62 82 115
4.8 22 29 40 49 59 78 120
5.0 21 28 38 47 57 75 125
5.2 20 27 37 45 55 72 130
5.4 19 26 36 43 53 70 135
5.6 19 25 34 42 51 67 140
5.8 18 24 33 40 49 65 145
6.0 17 23 32 39 48 63 150
6.2 17 23 31 38 46 61 155
6.4 16 22 30 36 45 59 160
6.6 16 21 29 35 43 57 165
6.8 15 21 28 34 42 55 170
7.0 15 20 27 33 41 54 175
7.2 14 19 27 32 40 52 180
7.4 14 19 26 32 39 51 185
7.6 14 18 25 31 38 49 190
7.8 13 18 25 30 37 48 195
8.0 13 18 24 29 36 47 200
8.2 13 17 23 28 35 46 205
8.4 12 17 23 28 34 45 210
8.6 12 16 22 27 33 44 215
8.8 12 16 22 27 32 43 220
9.0 12 16 21 26 32 42 225
9.2 11 15 21 25 31 41 230
9.4 11 15 20 25 30 40 235
9.6 11 15 20 24 30 39 240
9.8 11 14 20 24 29 38 245
9.9 11 14 19 24 29 38 248

Ta b l e 3 2 . 4 U V M O N I TO R I N G DATA
MARCH 1993 MON. TUES. WED. THURS FRI. SAT. SUN.
Time of day noon noon noon noon noon noon noon
Combined UV (meter display) 5.9 5.4 5.7 6.3 5.5 5.6 4.8
Combined UV (mW m2) 147.5 135 142.5 157.5 142.5 140 120
Indirect UV (meter-shade) 1.9 1.7 2.2 0.9 2.2 1.5 1.4
Indirect UV (mW m2) 47.5 42.5 55 22.5 55 37.5 35
Cloud type (cumulus = 1 1 nil 2 2 nil 1 1
stratocumulus = 2)
Cloud cover northern (%) 25 0 20 30 0 50 25
Cloud cover southern (%) 75 0 20 10 0 50 80
Temperature C 28 32 31 28 25.5 28 29
Relative humidity (%) 50 45 50 62 62 52 46
Pressure (hPa) 1026 1015 1013 1013 1012 1019 1022
Wind speed (km h1) 4 8 9 6 <4 <4 <4
Wind direction SW W SW ENE
A c t i v i t y 3 2 . 1 U S I N G T H E U V M O N I TO R
Design an experiment, making use of a typical UV monitor, to gather conclusive data in
order to answer any of the following questions:
1 Does the direct UV level (DUV) change more during the day in summer or winter?
2 How does the type of reflective surface affect the amount of UV radiation
received by a person, for example? What is the difference between grass,
concrete, asphalt or sand?
3 Do fluorescent lights pose a greater UV threat than incandescent lighting?
4 How does the screening effectiveness of materials such as shade cloth,
polycarbonate sheeting, fibreglass sheeting compare as roofing cover on
pergolas?
5 Is an SPF 15+ sunscreen more effective than an SPF 5+ sunscreen?
6 Does the degree of darkening of photochromic sunglasses have an effect on their
ability to screen UV radiation?
Practice questions
*13 Explain the following terms related to solar physics: nuclear fusion; solar flux;
corona; global warming; active solar design; Trombe wall; thermosyphon; flat
plate collector; solar cell; soft UV rays; ozone.
*14 Explain why reflective foil insulation on the ceiling is better at reducing energy
gain in summer than reducing energy loss in winter.
Solar Physics 743

**15 Electric cars can be run off solar energy converted directly to electricity to run
the electric motors and to be stored in batteries for later use.
(a) If the solar cells are only about 15% efficient, where does all the remaining
energy go?
(b) Why do solar racing cars require very efficient battery systems?
(c) What does it mean to say that the electric motor has an efficiency of 95%?
(d) What maximum current is drawn from a solar array providing 65 V if the
electric motor is rated at 1.2 kW DC?
*16 List the advantages and disadvantages of solar ultraviolet radiation for living
organisms.
**17 Research five important skin cancer facts that all Australians should be aware of.
**18 Use Figure 32.8 to compare the open circuit voltage of a silicon solar cell array
with its rated output voltage and power.
**19 Using the data of Tables 32.3 and 32.4, try to answer the following:
(a) Check the conversions from meter display to readings in mW m2. Are they
all correct?
(b) List all meteorological features on the day of highest direct UV reading.
(c) List all meteorological features on the day of lowest direct UV reading.
(d) Does the incident UV reading appear to be influenced by cloud cover?
(e) What are the limitations of this table of monitored data?

***20 The CSIRO low energy consumption home (LECH) has a total solar air heater area
of 19 m2. (Refer to Figure 32.4.) If solar energy falls on this house at an average
rate of 12 MJ m2 per day. Calculate:
(a) the total energy received per day;
(b) the energy transferred to circulating air, assuming transfer efficiency of 65%;
(c) the energy stored in the rock-bed during the day, assuming air transfer
efficiency of 90%.
***21 A solar hot water system receives solar energy at the rate of 10.5 MJ m2 per day.
If the collector area is 4.8 m2, collector efficiency is 0.7 and the water volume
is 325 L,
(a) calculate the total water energy gain per day;
(b) estimate the temperature rise of the water in the tank during the day.
***22 Calculate the extra tilt support bracket length, l, that would be needed on a
north-facing roof with a 15 pitch for a solar hot water system collector plate.
Assume the house location is in Rockhampton, Qld (latitude 23S) and the
collector plate is 1.8 m long, with the tilt bracket at right angles to the roof.
***23 Using Table 32.3, plot a curve of BW-10 AES reading versus exposure in minutes
for skin type III. Can you deduce a formula linking these variables?
Photo 32.2
These solar modules are used
to power a small house.

CHAPTER 33
Medical Physics
INTRODUCTION 33.1
Discoveries in physics have played a major role in the development of medicine, especially
those branches of medicine that are concerned with the use of radiant energy and nuclear iso-
topes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Improvements in microscopy techniques,
such as the higher resolution of electron based microscopes, have resulted directly from the
practical applications of theoretical discoveries in quantum physics.
Ever since the Nobel prize-winning discovery of the X-ray by Bavarian physicist
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895, when he produced the first X-ray of his wifes hand, diag-
nostic radiology or medical imaging has improved in its ability to photograph and record the
internal anatomy and physiology of the human body and those of other animals. Diagnostic
radiology is the imaging and analysis of both the normal anatomy and physiology of the body
as well as possible abnormal effects due to disease or injury. It is usually carried out using
X-ray radiographs, tomographs or computerised axial tomographs (CT scans), but other
diagnostic techniques such as ultrasonics, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron
emission tomography (PET) are becoming widespread.
The radiologist uses direct observation of the image obtained or extra detail can be
sought with the use of various contrast media that are administered to the patient just
before the radiology. Examples include upper gastrointestinal examinations (GI series), intra-
venous pyelograms (IVP) for the kidney and bladder, barium enemas for colon examinations,
arthrograms for skeletal joints and myelograms or angiograms for the spinal cord and blood
lymph vessels. These procedures allow the radiologist to record movements of organ systems
internally as the contrast material flows through them in real time. The image is viewed
directly on a radiation-sensitive screen (fluoroscopy), computer monitor or by recording onto
videotape.
Australia possesses many nuclear medicine departments in hospitals and private facilities
that use a range of medical radioactive isotopes. These isotopes are produced mainly by neu-
tron bombardment in reactors such as at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology
Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights in Sydney. The cyclotron particle accelerator device is
also used to produce short-lived isotopes, at places such as the National Medical Cyclotron
(NMC) at ANSTO and the Cyclotron and PET Centre at Melbourne Universitys Austin Hospital
and School of Physics. These facilities provide isotopes for therapeutic radiology, which is the
treatment of malignant disease with ionising radiation in conjunction with drug therapy,
hyperthermia and psychological counselling.
Medical physicists are those specialists who work with radiologists, oncologists, physiol-
ogists and radiographers in providing numerous practical applications of physics in the
medical sciences. The understanding of basic physical principles is a necessary prerequisite
for all these fields of study. In this chapter let us briefly examine the underlying principles of
these diagnostic and therapeutic tools. You may need to revise previous chapters on optics,
electromagnetism, quantum physics and nuclear physics.
Medical Physics 745

33.2 MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES

A microscopes resolution, or ability to distinguish small detail in a specimen, is limited by
the wavelength of the light used to illuminate the specimen. In an electron microscope (EM)
a beam of electrons accelerated by a high voltage (50 kV) is used instead of visible light.
The de Broglie wavelength of these electrons is about 100 000 times shorter than that of
light photons and so an electron microscope greatly increases the possible resolving power.
Modern transmission electron microscopes (TEM) can resolve details down to about
0.2 nm, compared with the best optical microscopes, which resolve down to about 200 nm,
with magnifications up to ten million times. The limitation for the TEM is the ability of the
electrostatic and magnetic lenses to maintain good focusing. Electron microscopes need the
electron beam travelling through a vacuum in order to prevent scattering by air molecules.
(See Figure 33.1.) The first types were built in the 1930s.
image
Figure 33.1
Comparison of a light
(a) microscope (a) with an
electron microscope (b).
light
source
thin objective eyepiece
condenser
specimen lens lens
(b) electron
gun image
vacuum
A newer instrument is called a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and uses a well
focused beam of electrons to scan the surface of a specimen. The first practical SEM was
built in 1970 by the British-born American physicist Albert Victor Crewe. The instrument is
capable of producing three-dimensional images and is not really a microscope at all. The
spot beam is scanned backward and forward across a specimen by the scanning magnetic
field. The incident electrons cause the ejection of secondary electrons with energies typically
of a few electron-volts, which are collected to form a cathode ray tube (CRT) control grid
current, as shown in Figure 33.2. The sweep or timebase of the CRT is in synchronisation with
Figure 33.2
sweep oscillator Scanning electron microscope.
CRT
grid
secondary
detector
electron gun
specimen
magnetic lens scanning field

coils coils

the scanning beam, and the variations in electron collector current control the CRT sweep
beam brightness. The specimen is usually placed at between 30 and 60 to the incident elec-
tron beam to improve secondary ejected electron current. The resolution of an SEM is less
than for a TEM, with useful magnifications extending to about 50 000 times. With an SEM,
thin slices of specimen are not needed as with a TEM, with even whole living specimens able
to be observed. In certain circumstances, X-rays produced due to electron collisions can be
used to obtain an elemental analysis of the specimen as well. The instrument is then referred
to as an electron probe microanalyser.
In 1986 the Nobel prize for physics was shared between Ernst Ruska, for his design
of the first TEM in the 1930s, and Gerd Bennig and Heinrich Rohrer of the IBM research
Photo 33.1 laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland, for designing a new kind of SEM called the scanning
A scanning tunnelling micrograph. tunnelling microscope (STM). The device relies on the quantum tunnelling effect between a
scanning metal tip probe and the surface of the specimen. As the probe is moved over the
surface, the flow of tunnelling electrons is kept constant by varying the height of the probe
above the specimens surface. These fluctuations in height are used to produce topographical
line scans from which 3D images can be constructed. Superconducting magnetic levitation
principles are used to control the height of the probe. Bennig and Rohrer were able to obtain
10 angstrom separations with their first designs. Photo 33.1 is an STM image of the oblique
surface of a crystal of tantalum diselenide obtained by Professor Dan Haneman at the
University of New South Wales, showing the outer electron charge contours of the lattice array
of atoms.
The most recent variation of the scanning probe microscope is called the atomic force
microscope (AFM). The atomic force microscope does not use a tunnelling current, so the
sample does not need to be able to conduct electricity. As the probe in an AFM moves over
the surface of a sample, the electrons in the metal probe are repelled by the electron clouds
of the atoms in the sample. As the probe moves along over the sample surface, the AFM
adjusts the height of the probe to keep the force on the probe constant. An electronic
sensing mechanism records the up-and-down movements of the probe, and feeds the data into
a computer, which then constructs a three-dimensional image of the surface of the sample.
U LT R A S O U N D 33.3
Sound waves above the human audible frequency range, usually 20 kHz, are called ultrasonic
waves. Modern ultrasonic generators can produce frequencies up to several gigahertz by
transforming alternating voltages or currents into mechanical oscillations, through the use of
piezoelectric crystals.
Ultrasonic waves have long been used by living organisms, such as bats and dolphins, for
echo location, and similar sonar devices are used for underwater detection and communi-
cation by submariners and boaties. In physics and engineering, ultrasonics can be used in
determining properties of matter, such as compressibility and elasticity, or for fault detection
in industrial materials, such as sheet metal or cast components. High vibration rates caused
by ultrasonic blasting is used to clean jewellery, produce photographic emulsions and even to
homogenise milk. Ultrasonics in the gigahertz range can be used to produce an ultrasonic
Photo 33.2 microscope able to resolve detail to about one micron.
Foetal ultrasound image.
In the medical field, ultrasound is used as a therapeutic tool to repair damaged tissue or
to treat conditions such as bursitis, arthritis or muscular damage. These applications require
the ultrasound probe to produce localised heating or diathermy as a result of tissue resistance
to the transmission of the waves.
Ultrasound has been used to great advantage in destroying embedded kidney stones,
reducing them to small fragments that can be easily removed by catheter or passed in the
urine. As a diagnostic tool, ultrasound is often more revealing than X-rays in showing the
subtle density differences in cancerous tissues. It is nowadays used widely to produce foetal
images from the uterus. (See Photo 33.2.) Foetal ultrasound examination was first used by
Dr Ian Donald of Glasgow, Scotland, in the early 1950s. The piezoelectric crystal is housed in
Medical Physics 747

a hand-held transducer unit pressed against the skin, using a surface gel, over the organ
or part of the body being imaged. A narrow fan-shaped beam of 5 MHz ultrasound waves pen-
etrates the surface and is partially scattered and absorbed. Reflected waves received by the
transducer unit are again converted to electrical signals and sent to a computer for conver-
sion to a two-dimensional video image in real time. Pure fluids in the body reflect very little
sound, so a fluid image is black on the ultrasound scan. The ability of tissues to reflect sound
waves to various degrees is called the tissue echogenicity. Tissues such as fatty masses and
liver tissue image as white or light grey because of their high reflectivity, whereas tissues
such as breast lymphoma image as dark grey because of their low reflectivity. Using high
intensity, very fine ultrasonic beams, a surgeon can produce an ultrasonic scalpel for very
delicate surgery in areas such as the brain or internal structure of the ear.
Doppler ultrasonography uses the Doppler effect of wavelength changes between the
incident and back scattered waves to provide images of moving fluids within the body, such
as blood flow (Figure 33.3). Blood cells travelling toward the transducer will cause reflected
ultrasound waves of shorter wavelength than the incident waves. Again, a computer is
necessary to convert the reflected wave energy into a comprehensible video image.
Figure 33.3
Doppler ultrasonography.
transducer skin
unit
gel
blood
back scatter flow
incident
blood vessel
red cells
Colour Doppler allows the imaging to quickly indicate direction of blood flow. Blood
flowing toward the transducer is coloured red, and blood flowing away is coloured blue. The
colours are superimposed on the cross-sectional image, which gives the direction of blood
flow. This technique is very useful in echocardiography studies and in identifying small blood
vessels such as calf veins and kidney arteries.
Radiologists today have a wide variety of ultrasound probes. Those used for imaging body
cavities and organs are called intercavitary scanners, such as are used for transvaginal
scanning in the early stages of pregnancy up to about 12 weeks, and transrectal probes used
for prostate gland examination. High-frequency and ultra-high-frequency (20 MHz) probes are
now being developed for musculoskeletal applications and in the treatment of various skin
disorders. The greatest advantages of ultrasound in medicine are its lack of ionising radiation,
relatively low cost and ease of portability. Despite the possible destructive effects of
ultrasound, medical imaging is now regarded as quite safe.
33.4 M E D I C A L I S OTO P E S A N D R A D I AT I O N
The history of nuclear medicine is closely interwoven with major discoveries in physics and
chemistry. Radioisotope production techniques developed rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s.
Today, the use of these isotopes has been combined with various imaging techniques and
computer data analysis to become a powerful medical diagnostic tool.
Scintigraphy refers to the use of gamma () radiation to form images following injection
of a suitable radiopharmaceutical compound. The radio part refers to a radionuclide, which

is the radiation emitter, such as the widely used technetium (99mTc), while the pharmaceuti-
cal part refers to the compound to which the radiation emitter is bound or attached, and
which is injected into the body to be observed and analysed. The radioisotope technetium-
99m is an isotope of the artificially produced element technetium and it has almost ideal
features for nuclear medicine studies:
It has a 6 hour half-life, which is long enough to adequately examine metabolic
processes yet is short enough to minimise radiation dose to the patient.
It decays by gamma rays and low energy electrons only.
The low energy gamma rays escape the human body easily and are accurately detected
by an external gamma camera.
The chemistry of technetium is very versatile and it can be tagged onto a range of
biomolecules that concentrate in different organ groups of the body.
Once the radiopharmaceutical compound is absorbed by organs or regions of the body,
the gamma rays are imaged using an external gamma camera, which converts the absorbed
energy of the radiation into an electrical signal for recording via a process called scintilla-
tion. When a gamma photon strikes a crystal of sodium iodide that has been doped with a
small amount of thallium, the energy is absorbed and re-liberated by the crystal as a photon
of visible light. This light is detected by a photovoltaic cell and converted into an electrical
impulse that can be amplified and recorded. The gamma camera used in medical scintigraphy
measures the radiation emitted by each spot in the body through the use of a multi-channel
collimator. The camera contains numerous scintillation detectors corresponding to collimated
channels. The outputs of the detectors are computer-combined into a single colour-enhanced
image on a monitor screen. The gamma camera itself is housed inside a lead shield to protect
the sensitive detectors from background radiation. A typical nuclear medicine camera is
the General Electric Starcam 3000, or the General Electric 400 ACT or the Marconi Irix. (See
Figure 33.4.)
Figure 33.4
Scintigraphy using a gamma camera. scintillation
detectors
shield
CRT monitor
collimator
-camera
computer
camera
heart body
lungs
The metastable atom 99mTc, in passing from the high energy state to the low energy state,
releases a gamma photon with energy 140 keV. This makes it very suitable for use in imaging.
Technetium-99 has a half-life of about 6 hours and is very versatile. If injected into the
bloodstream together with a tin compound, for instance, it attaches to the red blood cells
and can be used as a blood flow tracer. If administered as the compound 99mTc-methylene
phosphorate, it is taken up by bone and can be used to detect early osteomyelitis much faster
than the wait needed for early calcium deposition to be shown on X-ray images. As well as
the technetium, other widely used diagnostic medical radioisotopes are gallium-67 (67Ga),
thallium-201 (201Tl), iodine-123 (123I) and indium-111 (111In). Some therapeutic radioisotopes
used in nuclear medicine include iodine-131 (131I), phosphorus-32 (32P) and strontium-89
(89Sr). (See Table 33.1.)
Medical Physics 749

Ta b l e 3 3 . 1 M E D I C A L R A D I O I S OTO P E S
ISOTOPE HALF-LIFE PRODUCTION EMISSION (keV) CLINICAL APPLICATIONS
99mTc 6h reactor (140) cerebral blood flow
coronary artery disease
oncology and renal function
67Ga 78 h cyclotron (185) lymph node cancer, infection
201Tl 72 h cyclotron (168) coronary artery disease
X (83) oncology
18F 2h cyclotron (511) glucose metabolism neurology
cardiology, oncology
131I 8d reactor (364) hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer
(606)
123I 13 h cyclotron (159) thyroid and kidney studies
111In 67 h cyclotron (245) protein, cells and antibody studies
32p 14.3 d reactor (1710) blood disorders
Technetium has become the most widely used radionuclide for diagnostic nuclear medi-
cine. It is formed from the decay of a parent radionuclide, molybdenum-99, which, through
this parentdaughter process, can be provided in a convenient, readily available and mobile
form, the technetium generator. Table 33.2 shows the available technetium-labelled com-
pounds and their uses.
Ta b l e 3 3 . 2
RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL SHORT FORM CLINICAL USE
Technetium sulfur colloid 99mTcS/C reticulo-endothelial system
(liver, spleen and bone marrow scan)
Technetium macro aggregated albumin 99mTcMAA pulmonary blood flow (lung scan)
Technetium diethylene triamino penta 99mTcDTPA renal blood flow, function and
acetic acid excretion (kidney scan)
Technetium methylene diphosphonate 99mTcMDP skeletal studies (bone scan)
Sodium pertechnetate Na299mTcO4 thyroid, salivary gland and
gastric scans
99mTc red blood cells 99mTcRBC cardiac function and blood pool scans
99mTc Sestamibi 99mTcMIBI myocardial perfusion
99mTc Tetrofosmin 99mTcTETRO (heart muscle blood flow)
99mTc hexa methylene propylene 99mTc brain scan and scans for infection
amine oxime HMPAO
As can be seen from Table 33.1, the production of radioisotopes in Australia is both
nuclear reactor and accelerator cyclotron based. Today, cyclotrons are the preferred method
and a lot of research is currently being done to investigate the cyclotron production of
technetium in Australia. Presently the technetium-99 and iodine-131 are produced at the
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) HIFAR reactor at Lucas
Heights, Sydney.

Other reactor radioisotopes currently produced include:

Cobalt-60: used for external beam radiotherapy.
Iridium-192: supplied in wire form for use as an internal radiotherapy source.
Iron-59: used in ferrokinetic studies of iron metabolism in the spleen.
Selenium-75: used in the form of seleno-methionine to study the production of
digestive enzymes.
Ytterbium-169: used for cerebrospinal fluid studies in the brain.
ANSTOs National Medical Cyclotron facility (NMC) produces thallium-201 and gallium-
67 for both myocardial (heart) and tumour studies at Australian hospitals. Australias second
medical cyclotron is housed at Melbournes Austin Hospital, in the Cyclotron and PET Centre,
which primarily produces positron emitting radioisotopes for positron emission tomography
(PET). This is discussed in Section 33.5.
Other cyclotron produced radioisotopes include:
Rubidium-81: as a gas source, this isotope can produce images of lung ventilation
conditions such as asthma.
Carbon-11 and nitrogen-13: used to study brain physiology and pathology, especially
in conditions such as epilepsy and dementia.
In Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) maintains the
standards for radiation protection. Radiation hazards occur to the body as a result of damage
to cells caused by ionising radiation. This damage, as a result of the formation of chemically
active ions inside the cells, can take various forms but usually involves a combination of
temporary cell division inhibition, or genetic chromosome damage leading to mutations or
even cell death. Those cells mostly at risk are the actively dividing ones, such as bone
marrow, lymph glands or the gonads. The degree of damage varies according to radiation dose
and dose rate, the irradiated volume of tissue and the type and duration of radiation.
Recall from Chapter 28 that the units for absorbed dose of radiation refer to the energy
absorbed in a given mass of body tissue as a result of ionising radiation. The SI unit is the
joules per kilogram (J kg1) and is referred to as the gray (Gy), where 1 Gy = 1.0 J kg1.
Ta b l e 3 3 . 3 W E I G H T I N G FA C TO R S D O S E E Q U I VA L E N T
TYPE OF RADIATION DOSE EQUIVALENT
Photons (X-rays and -rays) 1.0
Electrons ( particles) 1.02.0
Neutrons (fast or thermal) 520 depending on energy
Protons 510
Alpha particles 20
Heavy ions 20
Dose equivalent is a refined unit that takes into account the fact that some types of
radiation can produce more damage in tissues than others, even though the absorbed dose is
the same. This leads to the use of weighting factors for the different types of radiation, as
shown in Table 33.3. The SI unit for dose equivalent is the joules per kilogram (J kg1) or the
sievert (Sv), where 1 Sv = 1.0 J kg1 = (weighting factor) absorbed dose.
Table 33.4 lists some typical absorbed doses administered to an adult patient for
common X-ray procedures, and Table 33.5 lists the total body dose equivalent administered
to an adult patient for some common nuclear medicine studies. The total average intake from
natural background radioactivity is 12 mSv per year. The highest known level of background
radiation is in the Kerala and Madras regions of India where a population of over 100 000
people receives an annual dose rate that averages 13 mSv. The dose from a normal X-ray is
about 25 Sv, while the dose from a typical dental X-ray to the cheek is about 1.0 mSv. It
is estimated that if 100 people are exposed to 1.0 Sv of radiation, then 5 of these people will
Medical Physics 751

develop a fatal cancer. A dose of 56 Sv over a short period of time leads to acute radiation
sickness and death as a result of damage to bone marrow, the gastrointestinal system and the
central nervous system.
Ta b l e 3 3 . 4 T Y P I C A L R A D I AT I O N D O S E S A D M I N I S T E R E D TO A D U LT S
( X - R AY U N I T S = m G y )
PROCEDURE SKIN BONE MARROW OVARY
Abdomen AP 4.9 0.48 0.84
Chest AP 0.2 0.042 0.002
Pelvis AP 4.0 0.53 0.75
Kidneys IVP 5.2 0.47 0.53
Lumbar spine (lateral) 20.7 0.79 1.36
Ta b l e 3 3 . 5 TOTA L B O DY D O S E E Q U I VA L E N T U S E D I N S O M E
NUCLEAR MEDICINE PROCEDURES
NUCLEAR MEDICINE PROCEDURE TOTAL BODY DOSE EQUIVALENT (mSv)
Thyroid scan 99mTc 1.16
Bone scan 99mTc.MDP 5.2
Lung scan 99mTc.MAA 1.8
Gallium scan 67Ga 20.3
Radiation therapy
In medical terms, radiation therapy is the technique used to deliver a lethal radiation dose to
a specific organ or site in the body while keeping the dose to surrounding tissues to a mini-
mum. The most common methods involve using internal radioisotopes that target specific
sites or external rotation techniques that allow concentration of radiation beams to very
localised sites. Examples of isotopes used for these therapeutic purposes are cobalt-60
and caesium-137. The commonest use of therapeutic radioisotopes is in the treatment of
cancerous tumours. The chances of recovery from the different forms of cancer are variable,
depending on factors such as early detection. Lung and bowel cancers have the lowest sur-
vival rate, even following treatment. The methods of treating cancer involve a combination
of surgery, chemotherapy (chemically based therapy), and radiation therapy. In radiation
therapy the usual method is to give a total dose of about 120 mSv, split into a series of
smaller doses of about 12 mSv over a span of 20 days. A newer technique involves delivering
doses to specific targets, using radioactive elements that chemically bind to the DNA of the
cancer cells. This method is highly localised and thus much more efficient.
In all forms of radiography and nuclear medicine, the protection of patients and staff
is very important. In the techniques of diagnostic and therapeutic radiology the ALARA
principle is used. The probability of damage by all justifiable exposure to radiation is kept
As Low As is Reasonably Achievable, which includes keeping doses to individuals, number of
people exposed, and likelihood of others exposed, as low as possible. Staff are required to
wear radiation monitors called thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) in order to be checked
monthly for exposure. Most operators return a below detectable limit or BDL reading, but a
high exposure might be 200 Sv for the month. These devices were discussed in Chapter 28.
In Australia, radiation protection regulations are based on the International Commission
on Radiological Protection (ICRP) guidelines, which provide a maximum permissible dose
for occupational exposure of 20 mSv a year averaged over five years (total 100 mSv) with a
maximum of 50 mSv in any one year. For public exposure the maximum dose is 1.0 mSv a year
averaged over five years (total 5.0 mSv).

Hadron therapy
The term hadron therapy was first used in the early 1990s to describe radiation therapy using
beams of heavy charged and uncharged particles such as protons, neutrons and heavy posi-
tive ions of carbon, neon and silicon. The name distinguishes this form of radiation therapy
from its counterparts using X-rays (photons) and high energy electron beams (leptons) in the
naming conventions of the standard model. One of the major problems with the therapy is the
high cost of treatment machine facilities, which require cyclotrons and synchrotrons. However,
in the small number of major centres of hadron therapy in the world, such as in the USA,
Japan, Switzerland and Germany, clinical applications are showing excellent results.
The main advantage of hadron therapy over conventional radiation therapy that aims to
kill tumour cells with beams of ionising radiation is that the hadron beams provide much bet-
ter (higher) dose distributions to the tumour itself while limiting the doses to surrounding
healthy tissue. This results from the way hadron beams are absorbed at the microscopic level
within the tumour tissue. Generally speaking the neutron, proton or ion beams produce a
greater number of secondary charged particle interactions along the beam path at the target
site in the tissue. This means that they produce high energy depositions or high linear energy
transfer (LET) characteristics in a very small area of tissue.
This is significant at the cellular level because it allows the energy to be directed at the
cells DNA double helix. In simple terms the hadron beams are much better at targeting and
ionising the actual DNA, whereas both electrons and X-rays are quite poor at targeting such
a small area. The biological DNA is the controlling centre of the tumour cell, so destroying the
DNA kills the cells very effectively and leads to elimination of the cancer.
A second advantage with High LET radiation beam therapy is that cells irradiated by this
method show far less tendency to change their cell division cycles, so far fewer cells are prone
to therapy resistance as is often the case with electron or X-ray therapy.
A third advantage relates to the fact that typical cancer tumours are poorly supplied with
blood vessels, and tumour tissues are therefore low in oxygen content (hypoxic conditions).
Such tissues are resistant to conventional X-rays but can be destroyed more effectively by
hadron beams. Since normal tissues surrounding the tumour are well oxygenated, irradiation
with hadrons will kill more tumour cells than X-ray irradiation will.
The first use of neutrons in the treatment of cancer patients was in the USA at the
University of California, Berkeley Cyclotron Laboratory in 1938. This cyclotron machine
designed by E. O. Lawrence used a 16 MeV deuteron beam smashing into a thick beryllium tar-
get. The neutron beam itself had a mean energy of about 7.0 MeV. Today the most advanced
neutron therapy accelerator is housed at the Wayne State University Gerhenshon Radiation
Oncology Centre and uses a 48.5 MeV deuteron superconducting cyclotron coupled with
multileaf collimators. The facility uses a single shielded room with the accelerator and its
internal beryllium target mounted on a ring gantry that can be rotated 360 degrees around
the patient; total mass is about 60 tonnes. (Refer to Figure 33.5.)
Figure 33.5
Neutron therapy superconducting
cyclotron. B
A A: room shielding
B: ring supports
C: superconducting
C I cyclotron
D
D: multileaf collimator
E: patient table
F: service platform
G: roller assembly
E
H: moving floor
J
H I: counterweight
F
J: drive motor
G
Medical Physics 753

Proton beam therapy has been used since about 1961 and heavy ion (12C) beam therapy
has been used since 1975 at various centres around the world. Proton therapy tends to be the
treatment of choice for paediatric cancers, as the risk of secondary radiation-induced cancer
as a result of the treatment is far lower. Proton therapy may involve either proton radio-
surgery, as used on brain lesions, or proton precision radiation therapy, used on the brain
stem and spinal cord structures as well as prostate and cervical cancers. At present there
are twenty active proton therapy centres in the world, twelve neutron and three heavy ion
centres. Some of the new centres being planned will combine both proton and heavy ion
machines. It is anticipated that in the next ten years hadron therapy will become a familiar
tool in the armoury of oncology treatment around the world.
Activity 33.1 RADIATION THERAPIES COMPARED

Use the material presented in this chapter, as well as Internet research, to compare and
contrast the techniques of hadron, photon and lepton therapies in modern medicine.
Outline what each contains, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these
methods. Present your report in such way as to convince the reader that more is available
than just X-rays.
33.5 MEDICAL IMAGING TECHNIQUES

X-rays and tomography
25 kV300 kV Figure 33.6
A Basic X-ray tube apparatus.
high voltage
+
electrons
rotating
anode
X-rays
X-rays are a form of EM radiation, as discussed in Chapter 28, with frequencies and energies
much higher than those of visible light. X-rays are produced in an X-ray tube by focusing an
electron beam onto a tungsten target. They are then able to be focused and pass through a
patients body and onto X-ray film, producing an image (Figure 33.6). The image is processed
in much the same way as normal photographic film. As the X-rays pass through the body
tissues they are absorbed by different amounts, resulting in a variation of densities on the
final exposed and processed X-ray film. Five different densities are recognised by radiologists.
Densities 15 in order are:
Density 1 Air/gas: black; for example, lung, bowel, stomach
Density 2 Fatty tissue: dark grey; for example, subcutaneous tissue layer or peritoneal fat
Density 3 Soft tissue/water: light grey; for example, solid organs, heart, blood vessels,
muscles
Density 4 Bone tissue: off-white; for example, humerus bone
Density 5 Contrast material/metal: bright white; for example, metal staples or pins
holding a fracture.

Organs are best seen with conventional X-ray film if they sit beside tissue of different
density. For example, the right heart border is usually seen very well because it sits against
air-filled lungs. Similarly, the psoas muscle is usually seen very well in abdominal X-rays
Figure 33.7
Conventional tomography.
because of the lower density fat tissue lying beside it. In the procedure called an intravenous
pyelogram (IVP), or X-ray of the kidneys and bladder, a non-ionic iodine solution called
X-ray Ioversol is injected into the patients bloodstream to act as a contrast medium. This allows
tube greater differentiation of the various tissues.
Sectional radiography or conventional tomography (from the Greek tomos meaning
desired
interest slice) is used if the organ or structure being examined is obscured by overlying tissue as, for
pivot example, in radiography of the kidneys that are being obscured by bowel loops. In this
patient process the X-ray tube and detecting film move about a pivot set at the desired plane of
interest (Figure 33.7). Organs or structures above and below that being imaged are blurred by
the motion of the X-ray tube. This technique is used today in conjunction with cross-
sectional imaging techniques such as ultrasound and the newer CT or MRI scans. We will now
X-ray film
take a look at these.
Computed tomography (CT)

Figure 33.8 gantry
Computed tomography (CT).
X-rays
disk
storage
monitor
rotating tube and
computer
detectors
camera
What used to be called the computed axial scanner (CAT) or body scanner was invented in
1972 by the British electronics engineer Godfrey Hounsfield, at the central research labs of
EMI Ltd., reportedly with money made from sales of the companys Beatles records! The
devices were in general use by 1979. A modern computed tomography scanner or CT scanner,
such as the General Electric Pace, produces cross-sectional images with the use of X-rays. The
patient passes through a gantry that rotates around the body at the level of interest (Figure
33.8). Information from the X-ray detectors is analysed by computer software and displayed
as an image. These images are photographed to produce a series of slices through the body.
Similar density differences are found in CT images as with conventional X-ray film but with
Photo 33.3 much greater density control made available by the computer. Much greater differentiation is
Typical CT scan of a body trunk. possible between solid organs as well as between organs and processes such as tumour or
fluid collections. CT scans are also very sensitive to contrast material and minute amounts
of calcium.
Intravenous contrast material is used with CT scans for reasons such as differentiating
normal blood vessels from abnormal masses, such as lymph nodes. Contrast material also
makes tissue abnormalities more apparent. Oral contrast medium is used for abdomen CT scans
to allow the distinction to be made between normal bowel loops and abnormal masses or fluid
collections.
The computer software driving the CT scanners allows fine manipulation of the densities
to display various tissues of the body where required. This is called altering the window
settings and is especially used to view lung tissue and liver tissue in chest or abdominal CT
scans. Photo 33.3 shows a typical body trunk CT scan.
Medical Physics 755

Recently, CT scanners that allow continuous collection of data as a patient passes through
the CT gantry have been developed. The tube and detectors rotate continuously around the
body from head to toe in a spiral pattern. This is called a helical scan. The software that
operates the CT scanners is very complex but the major advantages of helical CT scanning are
as follows:
Increased speed of examination, a big advantage as patients undergoing CT scanning
need to be kept very still.
Rapid examination at optimal levels of intravenous contrast medium concentrations.
Images can be retrospectively constructed from the computer data.
High quality 3D images are possible.
Despite the tremendous complexity of CT scanners, they still involve the use of ionising
radiation and cannot image many fine details in soft tissues. CT scans are also usually
limited to transverse (head to toe) or axial (across the body) planes. For these reasons the
technique known as magnetic resonance imaging is now becoming more widespread.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become accepted over the past ten years as a very
powerful diagnostic imaging tool. The first MRI scanner was tested on 2 July 1977 by
Brooklyn, NY medical researcher Ray Damadian, as a diagnostic tool that did not subject
patients to X-rays. Britain introduced the technique in about 1974 and the scanners
commercial sale was approved in the USA in 1984. MRI uses the magnetic properties of the
hydrogen atom to produce images, and as hydrogen is present in many biological compounds
that make up the body tissues, many diagnostic applications of MRI have been developed.
(a) (b) (c) Figure 33.9
BN Magnetic resonance.
N H+
H+ BN
S S
Spinning H atom Larmor precession
BO BO
External field, BO, applied
The single proton in the nucleus of a hydrogen atom may be thought of as a small spin-
ning bar magnet with a north and south pole. (See Figure 33.9(a).) If a very strong external
magnetic field is applied to tissues containing hydrogen atoms, they will mostly align them-
selves in the direction of this applied field, rather than remaining randomly aligned (Figure
33.9(b)). Although now aligned in the direction of the applied field (B0), the hydrogen nuclei
do not remain motionless, but spin around the line of the field in a precessional motion, as
shown in Figure 33.9(c). The frequency of precession is an inherent property of the hydrogen
atom in a magnetic field and is known as the Larmor frequency. The Larmor frequency
changes in proportion to the magnetic field strength but is within the radio frequency range
around 10 MHz. Hence the hydrogen atoms are radiating radio frequency (RF) energy.
A second magnetic field is now applied at right angles to the original external field. This
second magnetic field is at the same frequency as the Larmor frequency and is called the RF
pulse. It is applied by an electromagnetic RF coil (Figure 33.10). This RF pulse now causes the
net magnetisation vector of the hydrogen atoms to turn toward a direction that is at right
angles to the original external magnetic field. Thus, the applied RF pulse has added energy to
the atoms. When it is switched off again the atoms relax in various ways, the net magnetisa-
tion vector returns to its original direction and in doing so emits an RF signal that is received

Figure 33.10 BN
Generation of the MR signal.
RF coil
emitter
RF pulse
BT
BN
RF coil
receiver
MR
signal disk
storage
BT
monitor camera
computer
by the RF coil. The signal induces small currents in the RF coil that are called the MR signal.
It is these signals that are analysed by the computer software to produce an image.
Photo 33.4 The MRI image is surprisingly similar to a CT image but, of course, has not been produced
MRI brain scan. with X-rays. Photo 33.4 shows a typical head scan MRI image with all the soft tissue detail.
CT scans depend on tissue density, and ultrasound scans depend on echogenicity, but much
of the complexity of the MRI image is due to a variation of properties such as proton density,
chemical environment, magnetic susceptibility and the relaxation time of the hydrogen atom
in various biological compounds. Radiologists can alter the duration and amplitude of the
applied RF pulse to provide different types of images designed to clarify anatomy details or
pathology details.
The main advantages of MRI as an imaging diagnostic tool are that it allows:
excellent soft tissue contrast
imaging in any plane, being especially useful in scans of the musculoskeletal system
no use of ionising radiation.
MRI is the radiologists choice for most spine and brain disorders, but it has not replaced
CT, ultrasound or endoscopy as the choice for thoracic and abdominal disorders. Unfortunately
MRI is very expensive, with running and maintenance costs very high, and the instrumenta-
tion is obviously not very portable. The applications of MRI are being developed rapidly, with
certain paramagnetic contrast materials that increase soft tissue detail even further being
developed.
Further developments
The gamma camera as used in tomography produces only a two-dimensional image. In a
technique known as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), the gamma
camera moves around the body as with CT scans, but the computer is programmed to analyse
data coming from a single depth within the patient. Cross-sectional scans, similar to those
produced by plain tomography, are obtained. The main applications of SPECT are in bone scan-
ning, thallium-201 cardiac scanning and in cerebral or brain studies in which colour-enhanced
cross-sectional images are obtained using radioactive iodine-123 as the emitter attached to
a variety of tracer compounds, such as amphetamines.
Medical Physics 757

Radioisotopes such as nitrogen-13 and oxygen-15 produce positrons that are very short-
lived. As they are emitted from the nucleus, they collide with an orbital electron in adjacent
atoms and are annihilated, producing energy in the form of two photons travelling in oppo-
site directions. A technique called positron emission tomography (PET) uses a circular array
of detectors around a patient to search for these pairs at coincident times. A target
molecule, such as glucose, is tagged with the positron emitter, such as nitrogen-13. The
tagged solution is injected into the patients bloodstream. The data from this process are
again computer processed to produce a colour-enhanced image. A PET scan can be done quite
quickly so that it can provide information on rapidly changing internal processes, such as
brain activity. It has had good success in the study of epilepsy, locating quickly the deep-
seated focal point of the epileptic activity in the brain. The radionuclides used for PET scans
are very short-lived, 15O 2 minutes, 13N 10 minutes, 18F 2 hours, and thus must be
produced by a cyclotron at the hospital site. At present, PET studies in Australia are carried
out primarily at the Austin Hospital PET Centre in Melbourne.
The biochemical properties of the commonly used positron emitting radioisotopes are
generally superior to those of the single emitters for functional medical imaging because
the elements used are in fact the principal elements of the human body. Several positron
emitting isotopes are now produced in Australian cyclotrons. Glucose metabolism images
taken using radioactive glucose (18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose or FDG) provide unique
clinical information in cardiology, neurology, oncology and psychiatry. PET will also have a
major role in biomedical research with its ability to radiolabel compounds enabling in situ
studies of biochemical processes.
Practice questions
*1 Describe how you would explain the difference between medical physics and
nuclear medicine.
*2 Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of electrons accelerated by a potential
difference of 55 kV in an electron microscope.
*3 What device takes the place of optical lenses within an electron microscope in
order to focus the electron beam?
*4 Explain why a technician producing a specimen for scanning electron microscopy
does not need to produce a thin cross-section.
*5 Place the following names into chronological order of their medical physics
discoveries. Briefly outline the contribution made by each person: Ray Damadian,
Ernst Ruska, Wilhelm Roentgen, Heinrich Rohrer, Ian Donald, Godfrey Hounsfield.
*6 Outline the differences between the echogenicity of normal fatty tissue and
abnormal lymphoma tissue in the body. What imaging technique makes use of
these differences?
*7 Define these terms associated with diagnostic ultrasound: piezoelectric, Doppler
ultrasonography, echocardiography and intercavitary scanning.
*8 Make a list of the radioisotopes typically used in the clinical applications and
diagnosis of coronary heart disease and cardiology. What radiation is emitted
and how are the radioisotopes originally produced?
*9 A person is given a technetium-99 lung scan. How does the total body dose
equivalent in this hospital procedure compare with that of a person who does
not require this procedure? To what form of radiation is the scanned patient
subjected?
*10 A radiographer refers to a typical density 5 area on an X-ray plain film. What
object or part of the body is it likely to be?

*11 Explain how a CT scan differs from a plain X-ray image. Imagine you were trying
to explain the procedure to an elderly family relative in order to allay their
fears.
*12 Magnetic resonance imaging in medical physics or radiology depends on what
type of energy emitted by the hydrogen atom?
**13 Patient A reports to a hospital with an acute kidney disorder and patient B
reports with suspected damage to the nerve spinal cord at the base of the brain.
Predict which mode of diagnostic imaging a consultant radiologist might order
for each patient. Explain your reasons.
**14 Using sketches, outline the differences between an X-ray tube and a computed
tomography scanner.
**15 Use Table 33.4 to determine which X-ray procedure to the body produces, on
average, the highest and the lowest dosage rates. Explain why this might be so.
**16 Write a short report on diagnostic medical imaging techniques that allow
monitoring of moving fluids in the body.
***17 Ionising radiation interacts with body tissues basically by destroying cell
components. Explain why the weighting factor for alpha particles might be much
higher than for protons or electrons. Refer to Table 33.3.
***18 Compile a report on one of the following medical topics (a) to (e). You should
include the following sections in your report, where appropriate to the topic:
Overview of the ailment (who gets it and why)
Physics principles underlying the procedure
Dangers associated with the procedure
Success rates and future possibilities.
(a) Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as a cause of death from cancer
among women in Australia. Women have a 1 in 10 chance of developing it
during their lifetime. Radiation therapy achieves success in about 50% of
cases. Discuss.
(b) X-rays can be used to treat malignant melanomas although surgical removal
is the treatment of choice. Discuss the difference.
(c) Laser treatment seems to be effective in repairing detached retinas,
removing portwine birthmarks and tattoos. Discuss.
(d) Fluoroscopes were used in suburban shoe stores throughout Australia in
the 1950s to get X-ray images of feet in shoes. In retrospect, this was a
dangerous procedure. Why?
(e) The following conditions often require the use of radiation therapy. Research
and report on: prostate, bladder and testicular cancers; Hodgkins disease;
uterine, ovarian and cervical cancers; carcinoma of the lung; Ewings
sarcoma.
**19 Read the following material from information available on the website of the
Austin Medical Centre in Melbourne, and complete the questions following. You
may also need to refer to other tables in the chapter.
All radiology (X-ray) and nuclear medicine tests involve the administration of radiation.
Whether this is by way of an X-ray tube or radioactive material is of no consequence;
it is still radiation. The levels of radiation exposure, however, differ between the two.
The following table [Table 33.6] compares the effective dose from a range of radiological
and nuclear medicine tests with the equivalent number of chest X-rays. There is also a
column listing the length of time one would need be exposed to natural background
radiation to receive the same exposure.
Medical Physics 759

Ta b l e 3 3 . 6
NUCLEAR MEDICINE EFFECTIVE EQUIVALENT NUMBER EQUIVALENT PERIOD
INVESTIGATION DOSE OF CHEST X-RAYS OF NATURAL
(mSv) (mSv) RADIATION
Radiography (normal X-rays)
Extremities (e.g. knee) 0.01 5 1.5 days
Chest 0.02 1 3 days
Skull 0.1 5 2 weeks
Cervical Spine 0.1 5 2 weeks
Thoracic Spine 1.0 50 6 months
Lumber Spine 2.4 120 14 months
Hip 0.3 15 2 months
Pelvis 1.0 50 6 months
Abdomen 1.5 75 9 months
Biliary Tract 1.3 65 7 months
Intravenous Pyelogram 4.6 230 2.5 years
CT examinations (X-ray scans)
Brain 2.0 100 1 year
Cervical spine 3.0 150 1.5 years
Thoracic spine 6.0 300 3 years
Chest 8.0 400 4 years
Abdomen 8.0 400 4 years
Lumber spine 3.5 175 1.8 years
Pelvis 7.0 350 3.5 years
Nuclear medicine 99mTc
Bone imaging 3.6 180 1.8 years
Cerebral perfusion (blood flow) 4.5 225 2.3 years
Lung perfusion 1.0 50 6 months
Myocardial perfusion 5.0 250 2.5 years
Thyroid imaging 1.0 50 6 months
DTPA renogram (kidneys) 1.6 80 10 months
DMSA renal 0.4 20 8 weeks
Hepatobiliary 2.3 115 14 months
Liver sulfur colloid 0.7 35 4 months
Gastric emptying 0.3 15 2 months
Questions
1 What does the term mSv mean in the column heading for effective dose?
2 You have a typical X-ray for a broken arm and your mate says that you received
some dangerous levels of radiation. How would you respond to his worries?
3 Why would you think that CT scans to parts of the body are much higher in
effective dose than normal radiographs?
4 Give a reason for the increased dose to the lumbar rather than the thoracic
spinal column.
5 A patient requires investigation of her heart blood flow patterns. Which would
be the technique of least effective dose for the patient technetium gamma
scan or CT scan? What other factors do you think the specialist might consider,
especially if it were for a possible heart-attack victim?
6 Find out the meaning of the terms hepatobiliary, DTPA and DMSA, used in the
table.
7 From the table calculate an average effective dose from natural radiation causes
per year.

Answers-Walding p761 recto 25/8/04 10:03 AM Page 761
Answers to Selected Questions

See our Web page for worked solutions to three star (***) questions. The address is on the back cover.
Chapter 1
1 (a) luminous intensity, temperature; (b) ampere, second; (c) yard, year 2 (a) 1.08 109 km h1;
(b) 6.71 108 miles/h 3 (a) 1030 cm; (b) 0.0125 m; (c) 11.20 m; (d) 143.367 m; (e) 1.8 103 m;
(f) 1.4 103 m2; (g) 4.8 106 m3 4 (a) 172.72 cm; (b) 10.72575 kg 5 (a) (i) is larger; (b) use
scientific notation; (c) (i) 1 101 s, (ii) 1 105 s 6 (a) 5.52 104; (b) 7.3 107; (c) 1.5 106;
(d) 2.50 104 7 (a) 2.64 107; (b) 2.8125 1010 8 5 1028 m3 9 (a) 4; (b) 3; (c) 1; (d) 4; (e)
1; (f) 6; (g) 4; (h) 5; (i) 1; (j) 4; (k) 3 10 (a) 8.383 101; (b) 2.00 101; (c) 5; (d) 2.205 104;
(e) 1 102; (f) 1.000 10 102; (g) 1.999 103; (h) 2.222 2; (i) 4 104; (j) 5.070 102; (k) 2.00
107 11 (a) 2; (b) 3; (c) 3; (d) 4 12 (a) 4.20 102 m2; (b) 7.6 106 m2; (c) 7.2 101 cm s1; (d)
3.71 cm2; (e) 4.0 107 13 (a) 45.6; (b) 22.611; (c) 3.3 104 m or 0.00034; (d) 5.4 102 or 0.054;
(e) 2.35 106 or 2 350 000; (f) 3.5 102 or 0.035 14 0.2 kg cm3 15 (a) 110 cm2; (b) 2 cm3; (c)
115.0 cm 16 (a) 1022; (b) 1013; (c) 1010; (d) 1014; (e) 105; (f) 105; (g) 106; (h) 103 17 (a) 103 or
104 if converted to OM first; (b) 1012; (c) 103 or 104 if converted to OM first 18 2200 300 mm3 19
(a) 25.5 0.5 mm, 174.5 0.5 mm; (b) 25.5 mm 1.96%, 174.5 mm 0.29%; (c) 200.0 1.0 mm;
(d) 4450 100 mm2 20 223 000 5000 m2, 1980 m 20 m 21 (a) 27.6 0.41; (b) 10.35 0.06 22
(a) 5.3%; (b) 5.3%; (c) 5.3%; relative error remains the same even as the speed changes 23 330 20
ohms 24 (a) 8.49 cm; (b) 9.8 mm 25 3 108 mm 26 (a) 4.00 107 m; (b) 1.08 1021 m3; (c) 1.08
1012 km3 27 66 m s1 28 (a) 3.55876 103; (b) 40.00 (or 4.000 101; (c) 7.9 104; (d) 2.003 26
105; (e) 1.994 103; (f) 20.009 (or 2.0009 101; (g) 5.00 102; (h) 2.5 106; (i) 8 107; (j) 5
106 29 (a) 3.4 108; (b) 1.5 104; (c) 4.0 102; (d) 3.0 109; (e) 5.3 1011; (f) 6.4 1015 30
(a) 108; (b) 108; (c) 105; (d) 104; (e) 107; (f) 107; (g) 106 31 (a) 3; (b) 4; (c) 2; (d) 3 32 (a)
2.40 V 0.8%; (b) 3.25 A 2%; (c) 25.4 mm 2%; (d) 0.0035 T 3%; (e) 325 cm 3% 33 (a)
micrometer 0.005 mm, vernier 0.05 mm; (b) 28.4 mm length, 16.444 mm diameter; (c) radius =
8.222 0.005 mm ( 0.0608%), length = 28.4 0.05 mm ( 0.176%); (d) 6030 mm3 0.2976% (
17.9 mm3); (e) 9.35 103 g mm3 0.648% 35 Micro means small wavelength; pico means smaller
still 36 1.8 1012 furlongs/fortnight 37 1.1 102 7 104 g/mm 38 3 1023 fermi 39 $690 (to 2
SF) 40 3 107 words 42 (b) 11 March; (c) 2 h 56 min 43 3.25 106 m 44 True, 8.33 1024
molecules in glass, 5.21 1021 glasses in ocean 45 5.97 1010 kg
Chapter 2
1 (a) 2 km N; (b) 8 km; (c) 6 km; (d) 4.5 km E26N 2 60 m East 3 (a) 188 cm, 120 cm; (b) 377 cm,
0 cm; (c) 754 cm, 0 cm; (d) 94 cm, 85 cm 4 (a) 20 m s1; (b) 9.3 m s1 (33 km h1); (c) 4200 m; (d)
660 km; (e) 20 s; (f) 2 hours 5 0.26 s 6 4.8 s 7 (a) speed 3.89 m s1; (b) velocity 2.78 m s1 N53W
8 28 m s1 9 (b) 24 s, 56 s; (c) 02 s, 45 s; (d) same at 02 s, 56 s, 69 s 10 (a)(i) 6 m s1, (ii) 0
m s1, (iii) 4 m s1, (iv) 0 m s1, (v) 5.0 m s1; (b) 0; (c) 3.3 m s1 11 6 m s2 12 a) 8 m s1, 4 m s2;
(b) 38 m s1, 1.0 s; (c) 0 m s1, 20 m s1; (d) 7 m s1, 2 m s2; (e) 5.65 m s1, 0.65 m s1 13 6.7 m
s2 14 69 s 15 0.54 s 16 4 108 s 17 (a) approx. 13 m s1; (b) 10 m s1 18 (a) displacement 100 m,
distance 200 m; (b) 0.5 m s2, 1 m s2, 1 m s2; (d) 0 s, 30 s, 50 s; (e) 020 s, 2040 s, 4050 s; (f)
nowhere 19 (a) 150 m; (b) 350 m; (c) 2030 s, a = 1.5 m s2; (d) 0s, 30 s, 60 s; (e) 2030 s, 3040 s;
(f) 4050 s 20 (b) 15.7 km 21 11.25 m, 7.5 m s1; (b) 83 m s1, 34.7 m s2; (c) 131.25 m, 7.5 s; (d)
31.3 m s1, 14.9 s; (e) 18 m s1, 4 s; (f) 18.75 m, 2 m s2; (g) 10 m s1, 7.5 m s2 22 (a) 6 m s2; (b)
36.75 m 23 0.18 m s2 24 6.4 104 s 25 80 m 26 (a) 22.3 m s1; (b) 2.23 s 27 (a) 61.2 m; (b) 3.5
s; (c) same, 3.5 s 28 (a) 4.9 s; (b) 44.5 m s1 29 (a) 3.72 m s1; (b) 1.72 m s1; (c) 15 cm higher 30
constant acceleration of 10 m s2 31 A 33 (b) slope at C = 57 cm s1, slope at F = 140 cm s1, same as
calculated v; (d) area = 10 cm, about same as displacement at G; (e) slope = 1375 cm s1 approx.,
about same as calculated acceleration 34 (c) 90 cm s1; (e) same; (g) 1100 cm s2; (i) same; (j) area =
6 cm, about same as table 6.1 cm 35 20 s, 300 m 36 No, = 60 km h1 37 (a) 50 m s1; (b) 33.3 km
h1; (c) 10 200 m; (d) 715 m; (e) 20 s; (f) 55 846 h or 6.15 y 38 (a) 18.77 km h1, 5.2 m s1; (b) 3940
s or 1 h 5 m 41 s 39 (a) 4023 m; (b) 42.116 m s1 or 151.6 km h1 40 0.55 s 41 (a) 76 m north; (b) 9
m s1; (c) 2.8 m s1 N 42 35 km h1 43 (a) 15 m; (b) 40 m; (c) 01 s; (d) 14 s; (e) 01 s, 46 s; (f)
12.5 m s1 44 (a) 17 m s2; (b) 82 m s2; (c) 244 m s1; (d) 6.9 s; (e) 6.7 103 s; (f) 2.4 103 m
s1 45 (a) 10.3 m s2; (b) 18.5 m s1; (c) 29 m; (d) 20.5 m s1 46 (a) 162.5 m; (b) 392.5 m; (c) 5060
s; (d) 0 s, 37 s, 60 s; (e) at no stage 47 (a) (i) 3.375 m, (ii) 4.5 m s1; (b) (i) 286 m s1, (ii) 204 m
s2; (c) (i) 735 m, (ii) 17.3 s; (d) (i) 40.3 m s1, (ii) 13.1 s; (e) (i) 17 m s1, (ii) 20 s; (f) (i) 44.5 m,
(ii) 9.3 m s2; (g) (i) 72 m s1 (ii) 0.19 m s2 48 (a) 27.8 m; (b) 5.5 s 49 (a) 10.2 m; (b) 2.1 s
50 6.7 m s2 51 64.9 m s2 52 0.021 s 53 (a) 396 m s2; (b) 1.89 s 54 (a) 3 061 224 s (35.4 days);
(b) 4.6 1013 m 55 (a) 4 m s2; (b) 50 m; (c) 8.5 s; (d) 20 m s1; (e) 14.1 m s1 56 (a) (i) 2 s,
(ii) 5 m; (b) (i) +45 m s1, (ii) 9 s; (c) (i) +27.5 s, (ii) +38 m 57 (a) 22.6 m s1; (b) 2.6 s 59 (a)
liberty; (b) none; (c) yes; (d) 40 km h1 = 11.1 m s1, 70 km h1 = 19.4 m s1; (e) price, mass, fuel
A n sw e r s 761
consumption, warranty, accessories etc.; (f) not true could depend on mass of car as well; (g) not
supported mass could have an effect 60 Chris is still faster 61 14.3 m s2 62 (a) 23.87 m s1; (b)
75.3 s 63 (a) 0.04 s; (b) 0.17 s; (c) bottom is about 1/4 of time 64 Four times as high 65 (a) 11.7
m s1 66 Acceleration most thrilling. Kitty: 46.9 m s2, Eli: 805 m s2 67 Both the same 68 (a) s1 s2
= 10 10t1; (b) v1/v2 = t1/(t1 1) 69 Case 1: a = 15.4 m s2, Case B: a = 11.8 m s2. The Case 1 rider
probably reached top speed before the 400 m line. The rider in Case 2 was travelling at 305 km h1 at
the finish line but reached this after 5 s and held the speed constant 70 At current mass, a = 16.7 m
s2; at heavier mass, a = 15.7 m s2 71 (a) 30 knots = 30 nautical miles/h; (b) 54.9 km h1 73 38.843
058 mph or 119.813 82 mph. See our Web Page for the solution 74 s t2 (correct), v s (incorrect,
should be v2 s); 75 160 s; 77 at 0 m, 4 m, 16 m, 36 m, 64 m
Chapter 3
1 (a) 12.2, 0.70, 35; (b) 10.2, 0.61, 52; (c) 17.9, 0.45, 27; (d) 206, 0.25, 14 2 (a) 36 m, N56E;
(b) 34 m s1, W62S; (c) 22.3 N, W71.6N 3 (a) 30 N, 53 to horizontal; (b) 3.1 103 N, E36N; (c)
440 N, E8.2N 4 Scalar: mass, height, time; Vector: velocity, acceleration, displacement 5 29 N, S21.6W
6 (a) 50 m s1 North; (b) 60 m s1 E; (c) 43 m s1 E35.5S; (d) 53.8 m s1 N22W 7 (a) 28 m s1 up; (b)
39 m s1 N39.8E; (c) 28 km h1 at E45S 8 40 m s1 vertical 9 FV = 50 N; FH = 87 N 10 (a) FH = 75 N;
(b) FV = 27 N 11 (a) FP = 321 N; (b) F = 383 N 12 (a) 8 m s1 W; (b) 8 m s1 E; (c) 4 m s1 W 13
Increases their speed relative to the air 14 7.06 h 15 (a) 0.5 h; (b) 1.0 h 16 (a) 4.9 m s1 N24E; (b)
44.4 m 17 (a) heads west; (b) 33.3 h; (c) 18 km h1 W; (d) must head south; (e) 44.7 h; (f) 13.4 km
h1 18 (a) treble W; (b) halve W 19 (a) A; (b) D; (c) B; (d) C 21 (a) 3.14 cm, 0.325 m/y, 6.0 m/s;
(b) 44 cm, 1.625 m, 48 m; (c) 18.8 cm, 0.81 m, 18 m 22 (a) 2 m west; (b) 7.1 m s1 E45S; (c) 5.8 m
s2 N56W; (d) 9.2 m W22.4N 23 (a) 23.5 m, W12S; (b) 50 m, E33N; (c) 24.8 m S48E; (d) 2 m
north 24 (a) 175 km h1 rebound; (b) 75 km h1 W37S; (c) 27.0 m s1 80 to horizontal; (d) 451 m s1
E53N 25 (a) 100 km N, 0 km E; (b) north component 43 m s1; east component 25 m s1; (c) north 19
N, east 16 N 26 (a) 13 m s1 N67E; (b) 60 s; (c) 720 m 28 H I 2 29 (a) 04 y, 23.6 cm/y; (b) 1718
y, 52 kg/y; (c) sickness, 27 kg/y; (d) height, 10.3 cm/y; mass 8.71 kg/y; (e) height, 242.5 cm; (f)
height 285 cm; (g) birth height and mass not zero 30 16 m s1 S; (b) 11.3 m s1 W45S; (c) 5.0 m s1
W18S 31 (a) 87 N; (b) 50 N 32 502.5 km h1 E5.7S 33 (a) AP = AQ/16; (b) VP = VQ/64; (c) mP =
3
mQ/64; (d) P = Q 34 (a) r1 = 35 r2; (b) r2 = 15.3 cm 35 (a) 600 N; (b) 800 N 36 38 37 0.098 m,
100 38 n = 3 has sharper curve
Chapter 4
1 (a) 2.5 N N; (b) 101 N up; (c) 32 N, S72W; (d) 16 N, N22W 2 (a) balanced; (b) Unbalanced. FW
causes book to accelerate downwards 3 (a) Slowly: string A breaks because string A has to support the
weight of the mass plus the pulling force; (b) String B breaks because of the inertia of the mass.
String A would not experience the pulling force immediately 5 0.123 kg 6 No! V = 1.76 m3, m = 424
kg 7 (a) 2941 N, 2.94 m s2; (b) 3.3 m s1, 1.67 m s2; (c) 100 kg, 3 s; (d) 5.5 104 N, 2.78 103 m
s2; (e) 68 kg, 8.8 m s1 8 9000 N 9 96 000 N 10 (a) false; (b) true; (c) true; (d) false 11 (b) F a
12 (b) F a; (c) equal: m = 0.850 kg; (d) Steeper and wouldnt pass through origin. Need more F to
produce the same acceleration; (e) Keep the hanging mass at 100 g and remove masses from trolley
13 (a) Racquet pushes back; (b) Road pushes up and forward on horse; (c) Ground pushes up and
forward on horse and log; (d) Ground pushes up on beetle 14 (a) FN = FW = 25 N up; (b) FN = 5000 N
but table would collapse 15 (a) FW on Saturn is 1.07 times as great; (b) Because of Earths rotation
and shape, the acceleration will be affected 16 (a) 33 N; (b) Use an inertia balance (or springs):
convert mass to an equivalent Earth weight FW = m 9.8 N 17 (a) 0; (b) 0; (c) 735 N; (d) 665 N 18
(a) 246 N; (b) 172 N; (c) 5.73 m s2 19 (a) T = 4 N; (b) 2 m s2 20 Figure (a), (i) 5 m s2; (ii) 15 N;
Figure (b), (i) 2.5 m s2; (ii) 7.5 N 21 0.55 22 35 380 N 23 (a) 276 N; (b) 585 N; (c) 0.47 24 348 N
25 56.7 m 26 10.9 m 27 13.1 m s1 28 (a) 50 N; (b) 38 N; (c) 43.3 N; (d) 66 N 29 0.47 30 0.17 31
(a) 25 N north; (b) 10.1 N up; (c) 36 N, S74W; (d) 1.8 N, W 56 N 32 202.5 g 33 (a) 1st; (b) 3rd; (c)
2nd; (d) 1st 34 (a) 35 (a) 15.36 N east; (b) 0.1 N; (c) 25 N; (d) 1.56 N; (e) 3 105 N 36 (a) 0.84;
(b) same force (2100 N) 37 (a) 8.8 1015 m s2; (b) 1.8761 107 m s1 38 (a) The retarding
(friction) force; (b) 1.5 m s2; (c) 2 N, 3 N; (d) 1 kg 39 3.2 N 40 (a) Sodium 0.97 g cm3; potassium
0.86 g cm3; (b) No 41 (a) 3rd law Throw your jacket off behind you to accelerate; (b) 2nd law
The faster you throw, the greater the acceleration; (c) 1st law To change direction, throw something
to the side 42 Rolling and sliding friction is independent of area. Starting (static) friction varies with
area 44 (b) 3.3 kg 45 (b) 0.25 m s2, 0.175 m s2, 0.11 m s2; (d) m 1/a; (e) 0.175 N in each case;
(f) (i) 0.135 m s2, (ii) 2.72 s 46 (a) combustion 60%, engine 21.4%, transmission 1.6%, accessories
2.2%, tyres 5.2%, air 4.9%, brakes 4.7%; (b) decrease i, ii, v, vi, vii; increase iii, iv 47 Steel plate
drags along ground. Loss of control; dig up road 48 (a) 2.3 N; (b) 0.28 49 Wind force 2.1 103 N;
tension 3.7 103 N 50 (a) 2 m s2 upwards; (b) 22 s 51 For one person, a = 2.72 m s2; for two
people, a = 2.69 m s2; one person would go faster 52 59 m s1 (212 km h1) 53 93 N 54 15 m s1 55
14 m s1 56 15.3 cm 57 70 N, 0.58 58 16.6 m s1 59 15.3 m s1 61 464 N

Chapter 5
1 (a) 125 m; (b) 125 m; (c) 56 m s1 at 63 to horizontal 2 (a) 4.5 s; (b) 46 m s1 80 to
horizontal; (c) 36 m 3 (a) uV = 12.6 m s1, uH = 27.2 m s1; (b) 7.9 m; (c) 2.52 s; (d) 68.5 m 4 (a)
1.5 m s1; (b) 20 m s1, 4.3 (to horizontal); (c) 6.6 m; (d) 2.3 s; (e) 45.8 m 5 (a) 5.0 s; (b) 47 m s1,
72.7 (to horizontal); (c) 70 m 6 7.3 m s1 7 (a) could clear the ferris wheel by 7.0 m; (b) 68 m 8
(a) 12.5 m s1; (b) 23 750 kg m s2 9 (a) 13.3 m s2; (b) 94.2 s 10 (a) 2.4 109 m; (b) 1023 m s1;
(c) 2.7 103 m s2; (d) 2 1020 kg m s2 11 (a) Centripetal force is provided by the force of
attraction between the water and the cloth. As long as this force is greater than mv2/r, the water will
remain on the clothes; (b) No, you need to increase speed; (c) Probably not the force between the
water and the clothes is too strong; (d) moves through the cloth 12 27.8 N 13 7.74 m s1 14 (a)
2550 N; (b) 24 m s2; (c) No; (d) 50 N; (e) 77.4 m s1 15 22.5 N 16 (a) 0.52 rad s1; (b) 0.1 m s1 17
(a) 24 rad s1; (b) 3.8 rev/s or 229 rpm 18 Rotation of the Earth; molten core not taken into account
19 5.48 N m1 20 Chair 12.5 kg, astronaut 54.4 kg 21 (a) 1.644 s; (b) 1.647 s 22 (a) 11.3 m s2; (b)
1.02 s; (c) 3.3 m s2 23 (a) into his hands; (b) fall behind him; (c) fall to side of him 24 (a) 31.25
m; (b) 37.5 m; (c) 29.1 m s1 59 to horizontal 25 (a) 4.33 m s1; (b) 17.8 m s1 76 to horizontal 26
(a) uH = 17.2 m s1, uV = +24.6 m s1; (b) +30.2 m; (c) 4.92 s; (d) 84.6 m s1 27 (a) +5.3 m s1; (b)
28.2 m s1 at 6 to horizontal; (c) +5.26 m; (d) 2.1 s; (e) 59.2 m 28 (a) 31.1 m s1; (b) 45; (c) +24
m; (d) 4.4 s 29 (a) 10 m s2; (b) 22 500 N; (c) 18.8 s 30 3 g or 30 m s2 31 9.0 1022 m s2; 32 (a)
57.3; (b) 487; (c) 1.57 rad; (d) 0.52 rad s1; (e) 15.9 rev s1; (f) 6.28 m; (g) 30 m s1 33 (a) (i) 4.1
m s1, (ii) ac is the same as the ferris wheel is rigid and it is assumed that v is constant; (b) at top
383 N, at bottom 917 N 34 64.7 rpm 35 (a) 209 rad s1; (b) 136 m s1 36 (a) 10 N m1; (b) 0.888 s;
(c) 1.12 Hz 37 (a) 1.346 s, (b) 1.347 s 38 (a) 0.42 m; (b) 1.3 m s2 41 (a) true; (b) true; (c) true
42 0.18 m 43 (a) 4.58 s; (b) 45.8 to horizontal; (c) 150.7 m 44 He was 0.328 m off maximum
(96.5%) 45 (a) 233 m s1 at angle of 53 to vertical; (b) 837 m; (c) 263 m s1 at 44.8 to horizontal
46 (a) 7.2 m s1; (b) 1225 N 47 (a) 18 m s2 (1.8 g); (b) will remain conscious; (c) 2240 N 49 2.2 s
50 (a) 80 m; (b) 76; (c) 12.8 m, 104 m
Chapter 6
2 1.05 104 km s1 3 3.4 104 km s1 4 9.8 109 y 5 1.01 106 m 6 (a) 1.53 1027 watts; (b) 3.9
1010 7 Red has longer therefore lower temperature 8 False. Will give off radiation with = 1.06
105 m 9 False. Twice and twice energy but not twice rate 10 1030 11 expansion 12 least favoured 13
last 1037 years 14 true 16 (a) 2.64 109 s; (b) 83.5 years 17 4.51 1012 m 18 4.34 106 s (50.2
days) 19 3.54 1022 N 20 2.2 1016 N 21 (a) 60 m s2; (b) 45 000 N; (c) 11.2 min 22 (a) 0.034 m
s2; (b) 2.2 N; (c) 465 m s1 23 (a) 6100 N; (b) 5590 m s1; (c) 4 hours 24 (a) Fg2 = 1/4 Fg1; (b) v2 =
0.5 v1; (c) T2 = 4 T1 25 (a) 7279 m s1; (b) 1.8 h 26 (a) 2.37 km s1; (b) 8900 m s1; (c) 59 500 m s1;
(d) 618 000 m s1 27 (a) 86.8 N; (b) 17.4 m s2 28 (a) 7328 N; (b) 25.4 N; (c) 7302 N; (d) 750 kg 29
0.61 m s2 30 3 Earth radii above surface 31 Graph shows g 1/d2 32 9.27 1021 km 33 0.0427 c 34
11.0 km s1 Mpc1 35 (a) age 1/H 0 H 0 of 50 is younger; (b) 19.6 billion years 36 9.38 107
m 37 32 days 38 (a) 7.4 1012 N; (b) 3.56 1022 N; (c) 9 1056 N 39 8.2 m 40 (a) 0.31 m s2; (b)
708 N; (c) 10 670 s (2.96 h) 41 (a) 14.7 N; (b) 9.53 m s2; (c) nil g = 0 42 (a) 6254 N; (b) 6064 m
s1; (c) 3.17 h 43 (a) 36 176 N; (b) 7810 m s1; (c) 5277 s (1.5 h) 44 640 m s1 45 (a) 1.6 m s2; (b)
1.37 s 46 (a) 9.8 m s2; (b) 1.57 m s2; (c) 0.61 m s2; (d) 1.6 m s2; (e) 275 m s2 47 (c) graph shows
F 1/d or 1/d 2; (d) confirms F 1/d 2; (e) slope = 8.35 1012 N m2 hence G = 6.67 1011 N m2
kg2; (f) F = 9.2 1010 N 48 (a) third; (b) be flat; (c) yes elastic potential energy; (d) magnetic
boots, velcro; (e) no, only that relying on gravity 49 6400 km 50 Some possibilities (a) half the mass
but same radius; (b) double the radius, keep mass constant; (c) double the radius, keep mass constant
51 0.94 52 Linear, therefore r 3 T 2 53 (a) 3.4 108 m; (b) 0.90 of the distance to the moon; (c)
No. In circular orbit you would experience free-fall and feel weightless 54 (a) 9.8011 m s2 No
noticeable difference; (b) Same as on Earths surface no difference 55 (a) 9.2 1011 m s2; (b) 2.8
108 m s2 56 Spring clock not affected by gravity therefore it will keep time. Pendulum wont. They
wont agree with each other 57 (a) 3.54 107 m; (b) 410 m s1; (c) 0.030 m s2; (d) 1.79 N; (e)(i)
towards centre of Earth, (ii) perpendicular to Earths axis through Brisbane, (iii) towards centre of
Earth 58 4.9 1010 m s2 (cant escape, > c ) 59 6.5 1023 kg 60 (a) 3.8 107 m; (b) Procycon
(bigger surface area); (c) Same
Chapter 7
1 1282 Pa 2 12 000 Pa 3 1.25 106 Pa 4 (a) 1270 N; (b) 5.3 105 Pa; (c) 120 m 5 (a) 9690 N; 6 (a)
8.97 kg, (b) 89.7 N, (c) 78 N 7 0.6 g cm3 8 (a) 0.8 N; (b) 80 g 9 1670 N 10 3.8 106 N 11 400 kg
12 103.36 kPa 13 307.3 kPa 14 20 635 Pa 15 219 600 Pa 16 (a) 11 000 Pa; (b) 112.3 kPa 17 (a) 401
200 Pa; (b) 197 N; (c) 269 m 18 (a) 25 N; (b) 4.1 g cm3 19 (a) 0.8; (b) 800 kg m3 20 (a) 150 g;
(b) 10.05 kg m3 21 2.80 22 (a) 240 N; (b) 11.52 N; (c) 228.48 N (= 22.8 kg) 23 0.02 cm3 (20 kg
m3) 24 5.5 cm 25 (a) 0.94 g cm3; (b) 92% submerged 26 Fresh water less buoyant therefore floated
at lower level 27 Glass bulb expands and floats higher. Real density would be a lower value 28 (a)
A n sw e r s 763
downward force becomes less therefore rises higher; (b) water level in pond will fall; (c) perhaps use
ball bearing inside a test tube floating in a measuring cylinder 29 Equalise pressure on liquid inside
can otherwise the low pressure stops liquid flowing out 30 1. Weigh in a vacuum (use rigid container);
2. Alternatively weigh a rigid container in air, add the 1 L H2 and reweigh 31 (a) 0.58; (b) rises 32
(a) 7.38 105 N; (b) 74 tonnes 33 (a) ii; (b) ii; (c) ii; (d) all the same 34 Top and bottom holes
34.6 cm out from base; middle hole 40 cm from base 35 No, the water level is the same. The ice
cubes have bigger volume than liquid water but the cubes project over the top of the glass 36 H2
balloon could only lift 1.14 times the load of the He balloon 37 Equal. The weight of water lost from
glass equals weight of block 38 Cork will sink. 39 1087 kg m3 40 19.4 kPa 41 0.5 m 42 1.47 g cm3
43 Water level still higher. The water column is 13.6 times the height of the mercury column.
Chapter 8
1 0.92 m from 2.5 kg end 2 4.61 106 m from Earth 3 (a) 1.6 kg m s1; (b) 30 000 kg m s1; (c) 1.8
1029 kg m s1 4 10 kg m s1 west 5 2.57 s 6 79 200 N s 7 1.67 m s1 W 8 0.1 m s1 backward 9 6.25 m
s1 10 7.2 m s1 11 4.1 m s1 in same direction 12 (a) 227 m s1; (b) mass of rifle 13 (a) 11 020 N;
(b) 53 m s1 14 (a) 1.81 m s1 forward; (b) 1.86 m s1 (backwards) 15 31.25 kg 16 17.39 m s1 at
135 to either neutron 17 26.9 m s1 S42E 18 2.5 m s1 E37S 19 3.53 m s1 N38E 20 36 N m 21
5.6 104 kg m2 s1 22 4 103 kg m2 s1 23 0.89 m from 20 kg end 24 (a) 2 kg m s1 E; (b) 1.7 kg m
s1 N35E; (c) 800 kg m s1 N 25 1 1022 kg m s1 26 66 000 N s 27 (a) 10.0 N s; (b) 45.5 m s1 N 28
3.25 cm s1 29 9 m s1 east 30 2.25 m s1 31 8.8 1033 kg m2 s1 32 4.6 m s1 E55S 33 (a) air table
minimises friction; (b) to the right; (c) blood pumping in opposite direction (from auricle to
ventricle); (d) 0.025 m s2; (e) 0.021 kg m s1 34 (a) zero; (b) 2.09 1020 kg m s1; (c) 53 470 m s1
35 34 m s1 at 11 below horizontal 36 3.5 m s1 S38E 37 13 750 m s1
Chapter 9
1 (a) 87.5 J; (b) 170 J; (c) 50 000 J 2 (a) 18 000 J; (b) by the piano 3 (a) Horse A 8400 J, Horse B
6000 J; (b) 14 400 J 4 (a) 400 J; (b) 40 000 J; (c) 280 J 5 vA = 0, vB = 5 m s1 W 6 0.25 m s1 7 (a)
6 m s1; (b) 432 kJ 8 (a) 62.5 J; (b) 62.5 J 9 3.3 m 10 48 200 J 11 3000 kW 12 (a) 600 W; (b) 3420
W 13 (a) Ek(init) = 110 000 J, Ek(final) = 247 500 J; (b) 137 500 J; (c) 6.875 kW 14 178 571 N 15 746 W
16 13 m s1 17 (a) 6384 J; (b) 6.9 m s1 18 150 m s1 19 15.3 J 20 (a) 4 J; (b) 200 N m1; (c) 2.89 J
21 0.04 m 22 (a) 30%; (b) heat; not lost, just transferred 23 740 J 24 48 J 25 1.92 J 26 210 000 J
27 Ek(init) = 80 J, Ek(final) = 58.5 J. Not elastic 28 700 J 29 557 W 30 13 m s1 31 4.7 J 32 (a) 0.36 J;
(b) 22 N m1; (c) (i) 0.11 J, (ii) 0.44 J 33 (a) run-up 1, take-off 2, flight 36; (b) at beginning of
run Ek = 0 and increases; (c) no, this is GPE of centre of mass; (e) no, lying on back has lower GPE 34
(a) 1.9 m s1; (b) EK initial and final is 31.7 J therefore elastic; (c) no, can show that v1 = 3.9 m s1
and v2 = +3.8 m s1 and balls cant jump over each other 35 913 m s1 36 $55 per second; $4.75
million per day 37 (a) 0.28 km; (b) 5.94 104 W. 38 10.7 J 39 254 N m 40 1.2 kg 41 6.0 m s1 (21.7
km h1) 42 5 m s1 44 31.7 tonnes 46 (a) 7 m s2, friction; (b) 100 000 N
Chapter 10
2 (a) neither; (b) steam 3 Thermal energy 4 (a) the same; (b) 100 mL 5 (a) 293 K; (b) 123 K; (c)
793 K; (d) 201 K; (e) not possible 6 (a) 223C; (b) 5C; (c) 727C; (d) not possible 7 1.16 105 J
8 6.3 104 J 9 2.5 103 J kg1 K1; methylated spirits 10 1.17 103 J kg1 K1 11 112 s 12 2.1 103
J kg1 K1 13 1.6 105 J 14 1.2 105 J 15 8.3 105 J 16 58 min 17 31C 21 2.5C, 1C, 0.5C 23
(a) 563 K; (b) 248 K; (c) 332.2 K 24 (a) 204C; (b) 1103C; (c) 72.6C 25 36.1C 27 84.3C 28
64C 31 26 g 32 1.5 106 J kg1 36 (a) 80C; (b) 150C; (c) 1.3 105 J; (d) 1.3 106 J; (e) 1
107 J kg1; (f) 4.3 103 J kg1 K1 39 29.3C 40 1.9 cm 41 57 g
Chapter 11
1 920 kPa 2 50 m3 3 50 cm3 4 2.0 kg 5 35 cm3 6 180 K 7 8.8 L 8 76 cm3 9 5028 balloons 10 330 kPa
11 39.8 h 12 9.7 105 Pa 13 2.1 1022 molecules 14 0.012 moles 15 (a) 1.0 107 Pa; (b) 1.0 107
Pa 16 4.8 102 m s1 17 1.2 103 m s1 18 (a) 1:1; (b) 1: 10 19 1.6 105 Pa 20 0.90 mm for
contraction, 0.75 mm for expansion 21 (a) 1.5 102 mm; (b) 8.5 102 mm; (c) rings 22 50C 23
4.8 cm 24 1.1 L 25 1.7 L 26 497.8 mL 27 1.0 m3 28 99.5 h 29 174 cm Hg 30 5.2 atm 31 (a) 1/6 of
original volume; (b) twice the original 32 5.9 102 m3 33 8 1023 molecules 34 175.5C 35 4.9
1022 molecules 36 4.8 1023 molecules 37 4.0 1017 J 38 6.1 1021 J 39 2.1 1022 J 40 1999 m
41 5.5 mm 42 13.4 g cm3 43 17.5 106 m C1 45 8.3 102 J 46 30C 47 (a) 52C; (b) 61C 48
(a) 20 m; (b) V2 = 3.2 V1 49 1.1 105 Pa 50 9.5 atm 51 M = C + 303
Chapter 12
1 (b) steel, iron, brass, aluminium, and copper 3 (a) 1.6 kW; (b) 5.8 106 J 4 1.3 105 J 7 iron 11
85 W 12 4.1 102 W 13 9.6 106 J 22 (a) the can of Coke 36 2.7 106 J

Chapter 13
1 1.0 m s1 2 6 1014 Hz 4 1.5 103 m s1, 3.3 103 s 5 B down, G down, P up, D up, and M up 8
(a) 20 cm; (b) 0.60 s; (c) 1.7 Hz 9 (a) 80 cm; (b) 15 cm (c) 1.0 Hz 10 (a) 20 cm; (b) 40 cm; (c) 2.5
102 cm s1 11 Speed increases 13 (a) transverse 14 (a) transverse; (b) longitudinal 17 (a) 2.0 Hz,
0.50 s, 1.0 m s1; (b) (i) frequency and wavelength, (ii) speed of the wave; (c) change the tension in
the spring 18 (a) second is heavier than the first; (b) transmitted in phase 20 (a) 20 cm; (b) 10 cm
21 0.30 m s1 22 1.1 m 23 600 m to 10 m 24 (a) 0.62 m; (b) 550 Hz; (c) 2.6 m 25 (a) 4 cm; (b) 20
cm; (c) 0.10 s; (d) 2.0 m s1 26 (a) P longitudinal, S transverse, L transverse; (b) 300 Hz 27 (a) A
down, B down; (b) A to left, B to right 28 A heavier than B, C heavier than B 29 (a) between A
and E (b) A, C, E, G, I, K; (c) B, D, F, H, J; L (d) 4 m 30 0.40 s 31 (a) = 16 cm, f = 0.10 Hz,
amplitude = 4 cm, v = 1.6 cm s1; (b) (i) H,C, (ii) A,E,F, (iii) B,D,G; (c) 4.0 cm above where it is now
32 (a) 4.0 m; (b) 40 m s1; (c) A and E, B and F 35 (b) at an undisturbed position; (c) 8.0 cm
4l
36 (a) 4.0 cm; (b) 2.5 Hz (c) 2.0 cm; (d) 10 cm s1 37 333 m s1 38 = where n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
2n 1
39 36 m 41 (a) B; (b) 1.0 m s1
Chapter 14
3 0.10 m s1 4 0.10 m s1 5 (a) 0.05 s; (b) 1.25 cm; (c) 4 waves; (d) 0.625 cm 9 (a) different depths
of water; (b) 5.0 Hz; (c) 5.0 Hz; (d) 15 cm s1 10 1.9 cm 11 (a) Region (i); (b) 4:3; (c) 4:3; (d) 1:1;
(e) refraction 12 (a) the dotted line; (b) 2.0 cm; (c) (i) constructive, (ii) destructive, (iii)
constructive, (iv) constructive 15 (a) 7.5 cm s1; (b) 0.17 s; (c) 1.25 cm; (d) 6.0 Hz 16 5 cm s1, 4.2
Hz 18 62.5 cm s1, 25 Hz 19 (a) 1.3 Hz; (b) 4.5 cm 21 (a) they become circular; (b) no change; (c)
no change; (d) no change 23 No change 25 (a) path difference = 6.0 ; (b) 2.5 ; (c) n 26 (a)
the number of nodal lines will decrease; (b) increase in the number of nodal lines; (c) decrease in the
number of nodal lines 28 (a) 1:1; (b) 6:10 29 vd = 80 cm s1, vs = 60 cm s1 31 A 32 C 33 A
nodal line, B antinodal line, C nodal line 34 (a) 10 Hz; (b) 2.0 cm; (d) 8; (e) a is doubled, b
is halved, d is doubled 35 (a) destructive; (b) destructive; (c) the second order antinodal line; (d)
the fourth order nodal line 36 (a) 20 cm s1; (b) 20 cm s1; (c) 2.0 cm; (d) destructive interference;
(e) the first nodal line; (f) point X lies on the first antinodal line 37 (b) Constructive interference
occurs when the path difference = (n 1/2) , and destructive when the path difference = n
Chapter 15
1 (a) 2.4 cm; (b) 6.5 cm; (c) 1.6 cm 2 700 nm 3 (a) first-order = 0.53 cm, second-order = 1.06 cm;
(b) first-order = 0.79 cm, second-order = 1.58 cm; (e) blue = 440 nm, red = 660 nm 4 5.8 cm 5 (a)
1.3 cm; (b) 2.6 cm; (c) 2.6 cm; (d) 1.3 cm; (e) central maximum is twice as wide as others 6 0.20 mm
7 (a) 22.5 seconds of arc; (b) 32.5 seconds of arc; (c) Blue light has greater resolving power 8 (a)
2.6 m; (b) 3.9 m 9 (a) 23.6; (b) 36.9; (c) 5 10 = 532 nm, green 11 (a) Infra red 1080 nm or
Green 540 nm; (b) Infra red 720 nm or Blue 432 nm 12 Blue 432 nm 13 500 nm 14 7.0 105 m 15
1.1 105 m 18 (a) 8.7 mm; (b) 5.2 cm 19 2.0 106 m 20 (a) 1.5 cm; (b) 5.1 mm 21 667 nm 22
(a) 0.125 m from P; (b) double crest, maximum 23 (b) 1.4 cm; (c) 11.3 mm 24 Green light (568 nm)
25 480 nm 26 141 27 (a) (i) 3 108 m s1, (ii) 3 108 m s1, (iii) 3 108 m s1; (b) (i) 4.8 1014
Hz, (ii) 6.4 1014 Hz, (iii) 3.0 1017 Hz; (c) (i) 4.8 1014 Hz, (ii) 6.4 1014 Hz, (iii) 3.0 1017 Hz
29 2.6 m 30 75 km 32 (a) 1.5 cm; (b) (i) 2.25 cm, (ii) 1.5 cm; (c) 4.5 cm 33 (a) radio waves; (b)
microwaves; (c) infra-red waves; (d) X-rays, gamma rays; (e) visible light; (f) X-rays; (g) X-rays; (h)
microwaves; (i) ultraviolet light 34 FM radio 36 (a) (i) 0 , (ii) 1/2 (iii) 2 ; (b) (i) destructive,
(ii) constructive; (c) 440 nm 39 0.80 40 338 nm 41 674 nm 42 Green (580 nm) Indigo-Violet
(414 nm) 43 4.0 105 m 45 all false
Chapter 16
4 1 Hz 7 Hz 5 8.8 103 s, 0.34 m 6 Pipe by 0.021 s 7 336 m s1 8 170 m 9 255 m from you 10
Minimums 1 m apart 11 333 m s1 13 (b) fish are 725 m below 14 103 kHz 16 (b) 297 Hz 17 fo =
340 Hz, third harmonic = 1020 Hz 18 fo = 1133 Hz, 2 fo = 2267 Hz, 3 fo = 3399 Hz, 4 fo = 4532 Hz 19
(a) 2550 Hz; (b) 5100 Hz; (c) 850 Hz 21 (a) 3.0 Hz; (b) 4.0 Hz; (c) 6.0 Hz 22 50 dB 23 47 dB 24
3.16 104 W m2 26 (a) 1264 Hz; (b) 1142 Hz 27 (a) 1109 Hz; (b) 911 Hz; (c) same, 1000 Hz 28 In
the direction of motion 29 (a) 2.4 103 Hz; (b) 336 m s1 30 3.4 km 32 0.22 m 33 840 m 34 2550
Hz 35 425 Hz 36 (a) 340 Hz; (b) 0.50 m 37 (a) 1.16 m (b) second overtone = 884 Hz, third overtone
= 1179 Hz 38 343 m s1 39 (b) 336 m s1 40 (d) 200 Hz, 350 Hz, 400 Hz 41 (a) 1063 Hz; (b) (i) 16
cm from the top, (ii) 4 cm from the top, (iii) 2.7 cm from the top 43 439 Hz 44 248 Hz 45 437 Hz
46 484 Hz 47 8 km h1 48 990 m away perpendicular to line of microphones; and 24 m from
microphone 1 towards microphone 2
Chapter 17
3 (a) 50; (b) 70; (c) 65 4 4 m s1 7 (a) Convex mirror; (b) concave mirror 8 23 cm in front of
the mirror 9 (a) 3.3 cm behind the mirror; (b) virtual, upright, smaller; (c) 1.32 cm 10 (a) 60 cm in
A n sw e r s 765
front of the mirror; (b) 3:1; (c) 3.0 cm; (d) real, inverted, magnified 11 (b) 11 cm behind the mirror;
(c) 0.88 cm 12 (b) 2.4 cm behind the mirror; (c) 1.2 cm high 13 (a) u = 30 cm, v = 15 cm; (b) u = 15
cm, v = 30 cm 16 4.0 m 17 Minimum length = 80 cm 19 (a) diverging; (b) diverging; (c) parallel;
(d) converging; (e) Parallel; (f) Diverging; (g) parallel; (h) none reflected 20 (b) real, inverted,
magnified; (c) 23 cm in front of the mirror; (d) 2.3 cm 21 4 cm 22 (b) virtual image; (c) 8.6 cm
behind the mirror 24 (a) 13.3 cm; (b) 10 cm; (c) real; (d) inverted 30 60 31 (a) concave; (b) at
the focus; (c) use a parabolic dish 35 A, B, D 36 (a) concave dish; (b) at the focus 37 (c) 2; (d)
22.5 cm; (e) 15 cm 38 15 cm 39 4 cm in front of the convex mirror 40 (a) u = 10 cm, v = 20 cm
behind the mirror; (b) u = 30 cm, v = 60 cm in front of the mirror
Chapter 18
2 (a) 1.15; (b) 1.67; (c) impossible 3 (a) 2.0 108 m s1; (b) 1.25 108 m s1; (c) 2.3 108 m s1 4
1.81 5 (a) 1.46 (b) 28.7 (c) 64.1 (d) undefined 6 1.22 7 (b) sin i/sin r = 1.52; (c) 1.52; (d) 32
8 1.14 9 (a) 26.5; (b) 24.2; (c) 38C; (d) 1.09 10 (a) 1.41; (b) 1.14; (c) 1.25; (d) 1.37 11 w =
28, g = 23 12 (b), (d) 13 True depth = 0.9975 m 14 (a) no; (b) yes; (c) no; (d) yes; (e) yes; (f)
yes 15 58.8 16 1.2 18 (a) 60.5; (b) 1.76 108 m s1 19 46.4 20 (a) towards; (b) away; (c)
towards; (d) away; (e) away; (f) away 21 (a) 33.6; (b) 2.05 108 m s1 23 2.6 108 m s1 24 (a)
1.25; (b) 1.67; (c) 1.1; (d) impossible 26 (a) (i) 1.69 108 m s1, (ii) 2.5 108 m s1, (iii) 1.43
108 m s1, (iv) 2.11 108 m s1; (b) (iii) Highest refractive index 27 (a) 1.1; (b) 43.3 28 422 nm
29 (a) 66.5 cm 30 88.9 31 86.6 m2 32 1.52 33 0.67 34 (a) 1.19; (b) 1.09; (c) 1.41; (d)
impossible 37 29.6 39 1.43 cm 40 Ray passes into prism unrefracted, then retracts at 30.5 into
water from upper surface of prism and strikes water surface at 14.5, refracting into air at 19.5
41 R, O refract out of right side at different angles; Y, G, B, I, V undergo total internal reflection and
head as a single beam towards bottom 42 A spectrum diagonally across page: violet (top left) to red
(bottom right) 42 (a) Colour, dont use plastic, different R.I, degradable plastic
Chapter 19
4 Real inverted image 60 cm from the lens 5 The image is 7.1 m on the object side of the lens 6 (a)
Virtual, upright magnified (b) v = 6.67 cm; (c) Hi = 4 cm 7 (a) v = 7.5 cm; (b) Hi = 1.25 cm; (c)
virtual, upright, diminished 8 (a) virtual, upright, larger, 20 cm on the same side as the object; (b)
virtual, upright, smaller 4.5 cm on the same side as the object; (c) real, inverted, same size, 50 cm on
the other side 9 (a) HM = 2; (b) u = 15 cm 10 (a) M = 0.25; (b) u = 40 cm; (c) f = 8.0 cm; (d) real,
inverted, smaller 11 f = 103.7 cm 12 (a) 4D; (b) 0.5D; (c) 5D; (d) 1D 13 (a) concave lens f = 20
cm; (b) convex lens f = 10 cm; (c) convex lens f = 4.0 cm; (d) concave lens f = 2.0 cm 14 (a) convex;
(b) convex; (c) concave; (d) concave; (e) convex 15 (a) (ii) 20 cm; (b) (ii) 2.25 cm 16 (a) just
inside the focal length; (b) Hi = 4 mm 17 (a) v = 48 cm on the opposite side; (b) Hi = 3.7 cm; (c)
real, inverted, smaller; (d) 16.7 cm on the same side as the object 18 (a) v = 10 cm; (b) m = 0.50;
(c) 5.0 cm 19 (a) convex; (b) virtual, upright, larger; (c) 33.3 cm; (d) 3.3 mm 20 (a) 50 mm; (b)
56 mm 22 Ray 2, 4 24 (b) 25 cm; (c) 38 cm; 25 (a) convex; (b) inside the focal length 26 5.4 cm to
the right of the concave lens 27 (a) two images (b) 64.3 cm to the right of the lens, 23.7 cm to the
right of the lens 28 f = 20 cm 29 f = 35.5 cm 30 f = 43.8 cm 31 (a) u = 16 cm from lens; (b) u = 24
cm 32 f = 20 cm 33 f = 40 cm
Chapter 20
5 (a) closer (b) f11 and larger 6 (b) 2.5 cm (c) F4 7 (a) 12 cm; (b) 17.1 cm; (c) cannot be done
8 (a) 40, 410 cm; (b) 2.0 m, 205 cm; (c) 5 cm, 305 cm; (d) 1.98 m, 99 10 (a) 1.25; (b) 12.5;
(c) 0.25; (d) 5.0 16 (a) cornea and lens; (b) ciliary muscles; (c) iris; (d) rods 20 40 cm 21 (a) 1.0
cm; (b) 0.50 cm; (c) 2.5 cm 23 (a) convex; (b) concave; (c) convex; (d) convex; (e) convex 26 (a)
minimum distance = 30 cm; (b) maximum distance = 2.55 m; (c) 1.95 m2 27 c, d, f 31 6.67 cm from
the lens 33 50 cm
Chapter 21
1 (a) glass positive, silk negative; (b) rubber negative, wool positive; (c) gold negative, cat fur
positive; (c) 4 4.8 1019 C, the atom has lost three electrons 5 each +2 C 6 A = +4 C, B = +1 C 7
2.3 N repulsive 8 (a) repulsive; (b) 1.5 104 N; (c) 2.4 103 N; (d) 6.0 104 N 9 4.1 101 N up
the page 11 1.35 106 N C1 radially inwards 12 4.1 105 V 13 (a) 24 V; (b) 1.3 104 J 14 (a) 1.0
104 V m1; (b) 6.0 102 N upwards; (c) 1.2 103 J 16 Perspex positive, silk negative 17 Excess
electrons conducted through the body to earth 18 3.1 106 C positive 19 5.0 107 N C1 20 1.4
1017 C 21 7 109 C 22 1.8 106 V 23 4.6 104 V 24 (a) 1.2 105 V m1; (b) 9.6 1013 N upwards
25 3000 eV, 4.8 1016 J, 3.2 107 m s1 26 (a) 1.6 1017 N down page; (b) 1.67 108 m s2; (c) 8.3
106 s; (d) 5.7 103 m; (e) towards the bottom right 27 (a) point A; (b) zero; (c) 200 V; (d) 9.0
107 J; (e) 1.8 106 J 32 (a) 2.1 109 s; (b) 9.7 104 m upwards; (c) 1.06 107 m s1, angle = 5

Chapter 22
2 5.3 V 3 3.1 104 m s1 4 1.5 V 5 (a) 0.6 A; (b) 2.16 103 C 6 30 mV, it will not be electrocuted 8
(a) 1.08 ; (b) 0.72 ; (c) assuming that conductor B is copper, R = 0.8 10 Voltmeter 11.8 V,
ammeter 0.39 A 11 0.96 A, current through each 0.48 A 12 Current through R5 = 1 A, voltage across
R5 is 5 V voltage drop across resistors 14 is 5 V and current through each is 0.5 A 13 144 W; 14 (a)
1152 ; (b) 58 ; (c) 580 15 2.2 106 J 16 (a) 8.9 ; (b) energy is 18.9 kWh 17 (a) 4 A; (b)
0.25 A; (c) 1.1 A 18 2.2 102 J 19 8.0 107 m 21 series 22 The 60 W bulb has a comparatively
lower resistance and thus a thicker diameter filament, assuming an equivalent length to the 25 W bulb
23 (a) Rtot = 10 , A = 1.2 A, V = 7.2 V; (b) Rtot = 15 , A1 = 1.33 A, A2 = 0.66 A, V1 = 6.6 V; (c) Rtot =
20 , A1 = 0.9 A, V = 9 V 25 Z = 4 A, Y = 8 A, X = 16 A, V = 64 V, EMF = 160 V 26 (a) 4 A; (b) 60
27 (a) 20 bulbs in series; (b) 20 W; (c) 12 V; (d) 83 mA, R = 145 30 (a) A is the ohmic resistor;
(b) 14.5 V; (c) 15 V; (d) the same 35 5.1 hours 36 1.25 37 (a) zero potential difference between
the opposite ends of the bridge; (c) Rx = 1.0 k 38 (a) 92 ; (b) 45 V across the 60 resistor 39 R
= 232 or 43
Chapter 23
2 Adjust vertical amplifier to a smaller value in volts/division and decrease the timebase period 3 VPP
= 44 V 4 P = 30 W, Yellowpurplebrown 6 Plastic film or greencaps, electrolytics, ceramic capacitors
7 = 12 s 9 time = 12.5 ms; I = 2.4 A 11 VP = 10.6 V 13 (a) 20 V; (b) 40 V; (c) 0.0 V; (d) 14.1 V;
(e) 25 Hz 14 (a) 5.6 A; (b) 3.96 A; (c) 60 Hz 16 75 V, I = 13.3 mA 17 V1 = 4.1 V, V2 = 5.9 V, I = 72
mA 20 = 47 s, full charge after 141 s, W = 1.9 102 J 22 3.2 W 23 Vo = 6.1 V, Vav = 3.9 V 24
Decreasing the load resistance increases the current drawn from the supply, with an increase in ripple
voltage or hum 29 (a) = 2 102 s; (b) = 1 102 s 30 (a) I = IL + IZ; (b) Vin = VR + VZ;
V VZ
(c) R = in ; (d) P = 57 mW; (e) IL = 4 mA (f) R = 470 preferred 31 (a) 1.4 109 C and
IL + IZ
5.6 109 C; (b) 2.8 102 V; (c) 2.4 108 J
Chapter 24
3 IC = 3 mA, IE = 3.015 mA 6 IB = 25 A, VC = 1.4 V 7 = 100 9 Zin = 10 k 11 Square wave 13
Binary levels are two state; ON = high (5 V), OFF = low (0 V) 15 f0 = 200 Hz 16 phototransistor
input transducer, loudspeaker output transducer 20 = 86, or = 116 22 AV = 94 25 (a) IC = 100
mA; (b) RC = 30 ; (c) RB = 5.2 k nearest preferred 26 (a) RB = 280 ; (b) 0.4 mW in RB, 0.13 W in
RL; (c) 5.4 V; (d) 0.7 V 27 (b) IB = 7.15 A, IC = 0.86 mA, VCE = 1.4 V
Chapter 25
1 A substance that can be magnetised. Yes it does! 2 A magnetic pole is permanent, an induced
magnetic pole is temporary 3 An experiment based on repulsion 4 The way in which they are
influenced by magnets 5 Development of new magnetic materials with greater strength 7 Magnetic
flux is the total number of field lines passing through an area, whereas magnetic flux density is the
magnetic flux per unit area 8 2.2 T 10 Declination is the angle between the Earths magnetic axis and
its geographical axis. Inclination or dip is the angle of the field lines to the horizontal 11 (a) 7.3
106 T; (b) 3.3 105 T, direction for both depends on position around the wire being considered. Use
the screw rule 12 0.75 T 13 75 A current from A to B 14 4 105 T up, 1.6 104 T down 15 1.4
104 N to the right 16 0.05 N up the page 17 (a) down the page; (b) to the left 18 (a) side AB
downwards, side DC upwards; (b) to allow coil to freely rotate; (c) 0.18 N 19 (a) 3.15 1014 N; (b)
acceleration = 5.6 1012 m s2 20 (a) X and Y positive, Z negative; (b) particle Y has the greatest
mass as its radius of curvature is greatest 23 1.1 105 Wb 24 (a) A: N, B: S; (b) A; N, B: S; (c)
both A and B not magnetised 25 Force is attractive, 1.2 104 N m1 26 2.0 102 N downwards 27
7.5 A, towards the east 28 1.3 mT into page 31 Field strength is too small to affect the watch
qB 2r 2
33 (a) Magnetic field directed into the page; (b) 3.2 1017 J; (c) m = ; (d) 1.0 1030 kg
2V
34 Current direction is Y to X, 0.98 A 35 (a) 67 A; (b) 5.4 N m 36 (a) 42He2+: b, 42He+: d, 32He2+: a,
3He+: c; (b) in order left to right, 200Hg2+, 204Hg2+, 200Hg+, 204Hg+, 400Hg+ 404Hg+ 408Hg+
2 80 80 80 80 160 2, 160 2, 160 2
Chapter 26
2 (a) 0.24 V; (b) 0.2 V 3 (a) VAB = VDC = 0 V, VAD = VBC = 0.06 V; (b) no current will flow as VAD opposes
VBC 6 A very large output AC voltage could be induced even for a small input voltage 8 1600 V 9
Step-up, turns ratio is 52 10 140 V peak 11 Losses due to lower voltage distribution 12 (a)
appliances used to heat water and cook breakfast meals; (b) use of artificial heating in homes; (c)
appliances used to cook evening meals as well as general heating 13 At 11 kV, power loss is 3.6 105
W, at 66 kV, 9.9 103 W only 14 2.4 V 15 90 V 16 267 V 17 Because without it, the law of
conservation of energy would be violated 19 53 turns 20 Because a changing magnetic flux is needed
for induction 23 The magnet will, at first, be attracted downwards into the right solenoid and then
pushed upwards again 24 240 VRMS @ 50 Hz 26 Factors: input AC voltage, turns ratio, laminations;
A n sw e r s 767
energy appears as heat 27 40 mA 28 (b) 12 mV 29 Induced current will flow from right to left
through the ammeter and then the solenoid 30 (a) 5.1 kW; (b) 218 V at hospital, hence could not use
satisfactorily; (c) voltage would drop considerably; (d) voltage loss about 1.0 V only 31 10 Hz.
Chapter 27
2 (a) 8080 V m1; (b) 1.274 1018 C; (c) 8 e 5 electrometer 6 filament 9 Falseneutron not
discovered until 1930. 12 126C, 146C 13 32He (1n, 2p, 2e); 42He (2n, 2p, 2e) 14 Neutrons are neutral and
arent repelled by electron cloud or positive nucleus 15 protons, neutrons: (a) 1,1; (b) 6,6; (c) 8,9;
(d) 11,12; (e) 16,16; (f) 47,60; (g) 53,74; (h) 92,146 16 28.103 17 (a) 8.48 MeV, 2.83
MeV/nucleon; (b) 7.71 MeV, 2.57 MeV/nucleon; (c) 104.4 MeV, 7.46 MeV; (d) 127.6 MeV, 7.97 MeV 18
341.324 MeV 19 (a) 5.5 103 V m1; (b) 1.92 1018 C, 12 e 20 (a) 82, 125; (b) 17, 18; (c) 7, 8;
(d) 85, 130; (e) 83, 133 22 (a) 4200Ca, 4220Ca, 4230Ca, 4250Ca; (b) (i) 20, (ii) 40; (i) 22, (ii) 42; (i) 23, (ii)
43; (i) 25, (ii) 45 23 (a) (i) 0.320 802 u, (ii) 1.915 055 u, (iii) 1.034 425 u, (iv) 0.042 131 u; (b)
8.5 MeV/nucleon, 7.58 MeV/nucleon, 8.5 MeV/nucleon, 5.6 MeV/nucleon 25 (a) (i) to produce e, (ii)
anode is +ve, (b) (i) more e produced, (ii) faster acceleration 26 2.44 1015 kg 27 22 28 D 29 F
Chapter 28
1 The air is ionised and the electroscope attracts opposite charge from the air 3 (a) 88, 138; (b) 1, 0;
(c) 93, 146 4 (a) radium; (b) hydrogen; (c) Bk; (d) Sr 5 (a) 21844Po; (b) 23992U; (c) 42He; (d) 4251Sc; (e)
58Ni; (f) 230U 6 (a) 32S; (b) 0e; (c) 22Ne; (d) 0e; (e) 1n 7 (a) 210Bi; (b) 214Bi; (c) 222Rn; (d) 210Po 8
28 92 16 1 10 1 0 83 83 86 84
(a) 146C 01e + 147N; (b) 24 11Na 1e + 12Mg (c) 15P 1e + 16S 9 (a) 11 Na -1e + 10Ne; (b) 9F +1e
0 24 32 0 32 23 0 22 18 0
+ 8O; (c) 10Ne +1e + 9 F (d) 82Pb +1e + 81Tl 10 (a) 0.02235 s , 1.34 min ; (b) (i) 5 g, (ii)
18 19 0 19 19 9 0 19 9 1 1
1.25g, (iii) 3 10-5 g 11 (a) 89.7 min (b) 34.46 min 12 (a) 0.0693 min1 (or 0.00115 s1) (b) 8
1013 Bq (c) (i) 1.245 1012 Bq (ii) 1165 Bq (d) 7.7 hours 13 2.62 minutes 14 (b) 4.38 103 min1;
(c) 158 minutes 15 11 400 y 16 686 years old, hence 1302 AD; previously believed to be genuine and
hence should have a date of about 32 AD when Jesus died 17 (a) 2.03 1011 J; (b) 5.21 1013 J/kg
18 (a) 2.82 1012 J; (b) 5.24 1013 J; (c) 3.02 1012 J. Most energy comes from reaction (c) 24
(a) U; (b) H; (c) Ra; (d) P 25 (a) 2142Mg; (b) 2120Ne; (c) 20862Pb; (d) 3126S 26 (a) 01e; (b) 22826Rn 27 (a) baX
42He + ab42Y (b) ab42Y 01e + ab41Z 28 (a) 10n; (b) 2141Na; (c) 2152Mg; (d) 3199K; (e) 2173Al; (f) 94Be 29 9368Sr
401e + 9462Mo 30 (a) 146C 01e + 147N; (b) 0.000 381 u = 6.32 1031 kg; (c) 5.69 1014 J 31 (a) 11469In
01e + 11560Sn; (b) 5.297 1030 kg; (c) 4.767 1013 J 32 No, need something that exchanges carbon
dioxide 33 34 670 y 34 13.8 million years 35 (a) 353.5 GBq; (b) 9.95 half-lives, 36 (a) 148 days;
(b) 285 days 37 (a) 0.0859 days1; (b) 5.0 1016 atoms; (c) 126 days 38 emit as 40 1.00 min 42
(a) 49.6 y; (b) 15 43 (a) 4.123 1012 J; (b) 6.16 1014 J 44 (i) 8.145 1013 J/kg; (ii) 5.72 1014
J/kg, reaction (ii) produces more energy per kilogram; (b) reaction i is fission, ii is fusion 45 X1 =
13N; X = 13C; X = 14N; X = 15O; X = 15N; X = 12C; (b) sum: 41p 2 0e + 4He 46 (a) 4.3333 106
7 2 6 3 7 4 8 5 7 6 6 1 +1 2
kg/s; (b) 7.3 1015 y 47 8.97 1013 J; 1.8 million times greater 48 (a) 172 800 kg; (b) 4.84 1014
kg 49 Half life = 2.5 days 50 Make alloy of Au-198 with Al and make a saucepan. Use this for cooking
and scan brain of patient 51 Number of particles in 10 s = 3.7 1014; energy = 74 J; dose = 0.74 J;
absorbed dose = 0.011 Gy 52 238 92U + 0n 92U 92U 93Np + -1e 93U 94Pu + -1e.
1 239 239 239 0 239 239 0
Chapter 29
1 Electromagnetic force acts on electrons, Strong and weak nuclear forces act on nucleons, whereas the
gravitational force acts on all matter. Gravity has the biggest range and the weak nuclear force has the
smallest range 2 E = 2.85 1019 J, = 697 nm (red) 3 Violet photons have greater energy and shorter
wavelengths than red photons 4 W = 3.3 1019 J, v = 6.7 105 m s1 5 253 nm ultraviolet photons 8
Lyman series of ultraviolet photons: 122 nm, 103 nm, 98 nm 10 760 nm 11 9.7 1010 m 12 An
electrons position around the nucleus can only be stated with a certain probability 13 Under
conditions applying to the sub-atomic domain 17 3.62 1019 J = 2.3 eV 18 (a) 500 nm (green); (b)
3.98 1019 J; (c) 1.66 1019 J; (d) 2.32 1019 J; (e) 7.1 105 m s1 19 3.0 1012 m, order of
magnitude equivalent 20 (a) 2.03 1018 J; (b) 2.17 1018 J; (c) 3.14 1015 Hz 21 1.64 1013 J
22 (a) leptons, decay; (b) nucleons, hadrons; (c) all matter 28 1.69 1027 kg 29 x = 0.6 eV, y =
0.8 eV 30 4.5 1011 m 31 (a) 8.16 1019 J; (b) 3.36 1019 J and 4.96 1019 J; (c) 6.2 1020 J
Chapter 30
1 0.54c 2 7.8 109 s 3 (a) 0.06c; (b) 2.85 108 m s1; (c) 2.8 1014 km; (d) 317 ly 4 still 40.0 m
5 0.97c 6 (a) 5.44 y; (b) 3.26 y; (c) 2.61 ly 7 (a) 0.40c; (b) 0.909c 8 0.54c 9 0.96c 10 4.9 1028
kg 11 0.0003 kg 12 7.1 1016 J 13 3.3 1013 J 14 on the car 15 1.0 c 16 0.87c 17 (a) 0.867c;
(b) 1.1 107 s 18 Not perceptibly 19 181.4 m 20 0.866c 21 14.4 ly 22 (a) 0.447c; (b) 0.966c 23 c
24 0.866c 25 (a) 0.999 999 218c; (b) 1.875 m 26 (a) 9.0 107 J; (b) 9.0 105 kg 27 To you nothing
would change. To observers on Earth, mass would increase and any length in the direction of motion
would decrease 28 (a), (b), (c), (g) dependent; (d), (e), (f) independent 29 yes 30 0.0153 m 31
(a) 8.92 m long, no change to height; (b) 13 s; (c) v is the same (0.760c) 32 0.8c 33 (a) 9.336 ly;
(b) 21.0 years 34 (a) 5.9 1019J; (b) 4.7% 35 for example: 70.7 kg at 0.9999 c 36 his car 5.90 m;
your car 6.25 m 37 (a) 5.28 y; (b) 3.168 y; (c) 2.535 ly 39 (a) 0.51 MeV (b) 1.64 1013J (c) 0.94c

Chapter 31
1 (a) 1.6 103 ; (b) 3.1 103 ; (c) 3.2 mA; (d) 310 2 (a) 356 Hz; (b) 0.33 A; (c) VR = 50 V, VC =
+74 V, VL = 74 V; (d) 16.5 W; (e) 1.5 3 560 nearest, input voltage = 12 V 4 voltage divider bias 5
RE = 100 , RC = 360 , R1 = 22 k, R2 = 3.9 k, C1 = 1 F, C2 = 47 F 8 (a) OR; (b) AND; (c) NOR;
(d) 3 input AND; (e) NOT 11 (a) 660 ; (b) 810 ; (c) 7.4 mA; (d) 55 13 RE = 130 , RC = 560 ,
R1 = 33 k, R2 = 5.6 k, C1 = 10 uF, C2 = 47 uF AV = 50 15 (b) IP = 12 mA 17 Component listing is
LDR, LED, single pole switch, variable resistor, inverter gate, OR gate, resistor, connecting wires 18 (a)
ZAB = 42.1 ; (b) Z = 53 ; (c) IRMS = 0.1 A; (d) VAB = 4.2 V
Chapter 32
1 1.85 106 m2 6 5 105 J, at 50 reduces to 3.8 105 J 7 330 W m2. The northern hemisphere is in
summer during August 8 Photothermal devices convert solar energy to heat (solar heater) whereas a
photovoltaic device converts solar energy directly to electricity (solar cell) 11 Photovoltaic action
generates its own EMF and does not require a vacuum environment as does the photoelectric effect 12
1.1 kW. Actual power output depends primarily on the solar radiation flux change with time, as
controlled by such variables as cloud cover 15 (a) heat losses; (b) to obtain maximum power to
weight ratio; (c) ratio of energy output to energy input is 0.95; (d) 18.5 A 18 Open circuit voltage
(no load) is 20 V DC, whereas at maximum power transfer the output voltage is 12 V DC 19 (a)
Combined reading for Friday is incorrect 20 (a) 228 MJ; (b) 148 MJ; (c) 133 MJ 21 (a) 34.3 MJ; (b)
25C 22 Bracket length is 250 mm
Chapter 33
2 = 5.2 1012 m 3 Magnetic deflecting coils 5 Roentgen, Ruska, Rohrer, Donald, Hounsfield and
Damadian 6 Diagnostic ultrasound; fatty tissue images dark grey while lymphoma images light grey 8
Radioisotopes: 99mTc, gamma emitter, reactor; 201Tl, X and gamma emitter, cyclotron; 18F, gamma
emitter, cyclotron 9 1.8 mSv, subjected to gamma radiation that is about the same as the yearly
background dose 10 It is probably a metallic object 12 MRI depends on RF radiation emitted by
hydrogen 15 Highest dosage lumbar spine film, lowest dosage chest AP film 17 Alpha particles
mass is considerably higher, hence more damage ability
A n sw e r s 769
Glossary-Walding 25/8/04 1:53 PM Page 770
Glossary
Absolute sound intensity (I), the energy carried Atomic number, the number of protons in the
by the waves per second through an area of one atomic nucleus of an atom.
square metre, as opposed to a relative decibel Avogadros number (NA), the number of particles
rating (dB). in a mole of a substance and is equal to
Absorbed dose, radiation that deposits one joule 6.02 1023 particles.
of energy per kilogram of tissue. It has the units
of one gray (Gy). Barometer, an instrument used to measure
Acceleration, the rate at which the velocity atmospheric pressure often by use of a mercury
changes with time. column or an evacuated metal box (Bourdon
Accuracy, a measure of how close a measurement is gauge).
to an accepted value. The terms absolute error Beats, periodic variations in loudness heard when
and relative error are used. sound waves of slightly different frequencies
Active device, any semiconductor component that occur together. The constructive and destructive
can change the form of electrical signals it interference of these sound waves causes a
receives such as diodes, transistors and sound that represents the difference in
integrated circuits. frequency.
Activity, the number of radioactive disintegrations Biasing, the process of providing the correct DC
per second within a radionuclide. operating voltages for semiconductor devices
Alternating current (AC), an electric current that such as diodes and transistors.
reverses direction of flow of charge during its Binding energy, the energy converted from mass
cycles. when a nucleus is formed from its constituent
Ammeter, an instrument for measuring electric nuclear particles, all initially in their free
current. state.
Amplitude, the maximum displacement of an Black hole, describes a region of space that
oscillating system from equilibrium. contains matter so dense that even light cannot
Analog, an electrical signal whose magnitude is escape its gravitational force.
continuously variable. Bosons, the fundamental gauge particles of the
Angle of incidence, the angle between the Standard Model together with hadrons and
incident ray and the normal to the surface. leptons. The gauge bosons carry the fundamental
Angle of refraction, the angle between the forces of nature such as the electromagnetic
refracted ray and the normal to the interface. photon and the gravitational graviton.
Angular velocity, the velocity of an object Boyles law, states that for a fixed mass of gas at
travelling in a circle and expressed in degrees (or constant temperature the volume of the gas
radians) per unit of time. varies inversely with the pressure.
Antinodes, result from the intersection of two
crests or two troughs producing super crests and Capacitor, component used to store electric charge
troughs. in circuits. Types include electrolytic, plastic film
Archimedes principle, when an object is wholly or and ceramic.
partially immersed in a fluid, the upthrust on the Cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO), instrument used
object is equal to the weight of the fluid to display rapidly varying voltage wave shapes in
displaced. electronic circuit testing.
Astigmatism, occurs if a person sees objects or Central maximum, the antinodal line through the
parts of an object blurred in a particular centre of an interference pattern. All points on
direction while other parts are in focus. this line are equidistant from the two
Atomic mass, the number of protons and neutrons sources.
in the nucleus of an atom. Sometimes called Centre of curvature, of a mirror is the centre of
mass number. the sphere that the mirror forms a part of.

Centre of mass, the point at which the whole mass Critical angle, the angle of incidence that
of an object is considered to be concentrated for produces total internal reflection within an
the purpose of applying the laws of motion. optical system.
Centripetal force, the force directed inward that Critical mass, the minimum mass required to
keeps any object moving in a curve. sustain a chain reaction.
Chain reaction, one in which the products of the
reaction initiate further reactions. These can be Decay series, a series of radioactive decays; for
controlled chain reactions such as in nuclear example, 238U decays by a series of alpha and
fusion reactors or uncontrolled chain reactions as beta decays to 206Pb.
in the nuclear bomb. Diffraction, the bending of waves as they pass
Charles law, states that for a confined gas where through a slit or around the edges of objects.
the pressure remains constant, the volume of Digital, an electrical signal whose magnitude
the gas is directly proportional to its Kelvin exists in discrete steps from zero to some fixed
temperature. value.
Circuit, a closed pathway for the flow of electric Diode, a semiconductor PN junction component
current containing a source of EMF, conductors used to control the direction of flow of DC
and load devices. current.
Coefficient of friction, the frictional force divided Dioptre, a lens makers unit that defines the
by the normal contact force for a given surface optical power of a lens. It is equivalent to the
type. reciprocal of the focal length (in metres).
Coefficient of linear expansion (), of a solid is Direct current (DC), an electric current that has
the change in length of a one metre length of a one direction of flow of charge continuously.
solid due to a temperature change of one degree Dispersion, the separation of white light into its
Celsius. component wavelengths or colours.
Coefficient of volume expansion (), of a liquid Displacement, the change in position of an object
is the change in volume per cubic metre of a in a given direction.
liquid due to a temperature change of one degree Doping, the process of adding chemical impurities
Celsius. to semiconductor crystalline materials to increase
Coherent, another term for waves that are in phase conductivity.
or sources producing wave crests at the same Dose equivalent, to quantify the potential of
time. radiation to damage and ultimately kill cells,
Compressional wave, or longitudinal wave, occurs physicists use the sievert (Sv) unit. For example,
when the particles of the medium vibrate in the for X-rays, -rays and -particles 1 Gy = 1 Sv.
same direction as the direction of propagation of
the wave. Effective dose, the dose that is obtained by
Computed tomography (CT), a modern medical summing the equivalent doses in all tissues and
imaging process producing X-ray slices of the organs of the body weighted by their sensitivity
body by rotating an X-ray scanner about the to radiation.
body. Often called a CAT scan. Efficiency, a measure of the useful energy output
Conduction, the process where heat energy is compared with the energy input.
transferred through a medium by the vibrating Elastic collision, one in which kinetic energy is
particles of the medium, but without the conserved.
particles moving with the heat energy transfer. Elastic potential energy, the energy stored in a
Conductor, a substance that passes the flow of spring or other elastic body by virtue of its
electric current, as opposed to an insulator. distortion, or change in shape.
Control rod, a substance, such as cadmium, Electric current, a flow of electric charge defined
used to absorb neutrons within a nuclear as conventional current (positive charge flow)
reactor. and electron flow (negative charge flow).
Convection, the process where heat energy is Electric field, a zone of influence where a force
transferred through a medium by the particles acts on any electric charge brought into it.
of the materials, which actually move with the Represented with electric field lines.
heat flow. Electric potential difference, the work done per
Coolant, a liquid that circulates through the unit charge as the charge is moved between two
reactor core to remove excess heat energy and points in an electric field. Measured in volts.
stop it from overheating. Water and heavy water Electrical resistance, the opposition to the flow of
(deuterium oxide D2O) are often used. electric current in any conductor. The larger the
Coulombs law, states that the magnitude and resistance (ohm), the smaller the current flow for
direction of the electrostatic force between two a given voltage.
charges depends directly on the sign and Electromagnetic induction, the process of
magnitude of the charges and inversely on the inducing an EMF in a conductor by a changing
square of the distance between them. magnetic flux.
Glossary 771
Electromagnetic relay, a switching device using a Gravitational mass, a measure of the pull of
small current through a solenoid to control a gravity on an object. A spring balance is often
much larger current via an electromagnetic field. used to measure gravitational mass.
Electromagnetic waves, those that require no Gravitational potential energy, the stored energy
medium for transmission and travel at the speed of an object by virtue of its position above a
of light in a vacuum. Include long wavelength reference surface.
radio waves through to short wavelength gamma
rays, called the electromagnetic spectrum. Hadrons, those nuclear constituents of matter
Electromotive force (EMF), the energy per unit influenced by the strong nuclear force. They
charge supplied by a source of electric current. include baryons and mesons. The proton and the
Electroscope, one of the earliest instruments used neutron are the most well known examples.
to detect electrical charge or ionising radiation. Half-life, the time taken for half the radioactive
An electroscope contains two thin pivoted metal atoms in a sample to decay.
foils inside a protective container. Heat, term used to describe the internal energy
Energy level diagram, shows the discrete energy transferred throughout the heating process.
level series that characterises the allowed Hookes law, states that the displacement of a
electron energies in a particular atoms excited spring is proportional to the force applied.
states. Hydrostatics, the science of fluids at rest, as
Enrichment, the process of concentrating nuclear opposed to hydrodynamics.
fuel to about 5% of the U-235 isotope so as to
have a self-sustaining chain reaction. Independent variable, the one in which a change
Entropy, a measure of the orderliness of the is made to determine the effect on the
particles of a system. dependent variable.
Error, discrepancy between an instrumental Inductor, an electronic component used to store
measurement of a quantity and its actual value. energy in a magnetic field. Types include
The causes of error may be random or systematic. solenoids, relay coils and choke coils.
Escape velocity, the velocity needed to escape a Inertial mass, a measure of resistance to motion.
planets gravitational pull. For Earth it is If a known force is applied to different objects,
11.2 km s1. then the resultant acceleration is related directly
Extrapolation, a graphical method that involves to mass.
extending a line past the first or last data Inertial reference frame, one in which Newtons
points. first law of inertia is valid. Rotating or otherwise
accelerating frames of reference are non-inertial
Ferromagnetic, the class of material that is frames.
strongly attracted by magnets, as opposed to Instantaneous speed, the speed as measured over
diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials. a very small period of time.
Flat plate collectors, used in a common method of Integrated circuit, an active miniaturised circuit
collecting energy from the sun in order to component that contains complex internal
produce hot water. Utilises flat blackened circuits fabricated from a body of semiconductor
absorbing surfaces. material. Types include linear and digital.
Fluid, a substance that can flow, such as liquids, Interference, occurs with multiple wave sources
gases and plasma. when crests and troughs interact to either
Fluorescence, the emission of light during the reinforce or cause cancellation at a point.
absorption of radiation from other sources. Internal energy, energy associated with the
Fraunhofer lines, dark absorption lines in the solar random vibrations or motions of electrons,
spectrum caused by atoms present in the low atoms and molecules within an object; for
pressure solar atmosphere. example, chemical, heat and electrical
Frequency, the number of oscillations of a wave energy.
source per second, measured in hertz (Hz). Interpolation, determining the value of a
Friction, a force that resists motion between two measurement in between two or more other
surfaces in contact. May be either dynamic or measurements. The usual method is by using a
static. graph.
Fundamental frequency, the lowest natural Ionising radiation, radiation that causes an atom
frequency produced by an object or musical to absorb so much energy that an electron
instrument. completely escapes from the atom and a positive
ion is produced.
Galvanometer, an instrument used to measure Isotopes, nuclei with the same number of protons
the magnitude and direction of electric currents. in their nuclei and the same chemical symbol,
Gauge pressure, the difference between yet differing in the number of neutrons in their
atmospheric pressure and the pressure in a nuclei. Their atomic numbers will be identical
connected vessel. but their atomic masses will be different.

Kinetic energy, energy possessed by virtue of the Monochromatic light, light consisting of only one
motion of an object. wavelength. Light may also be polychromatic.
Kirchhoffs laws, the circuit laws relating to Motor principle, a conductor carrying an electric
current and voltage within electrical networks. current has a force exerted upon it if it is placed
The current junction law states that the sum of within a magnetic field. Basis of electric motors,
all currents entering any circuit junction is equal where the force is actually a torque produced on
to the sum of all currents leaving that junction a rotor assembly.
point. The voltage loop law states that the Mutual induction, the induction of an AC EMF in
algebraic sum of all voltage changes encountered one solenoid by the varying magnetic field of a
in any complete closed circuit loop is equal to closely positioned second solenoid.
zero.
Node, is created by the interacting of a trough of
Law of conservation of energy, energy is not lost, one wave and a crest of another, producing a
it just gets transferred from one place to another. point of zero displacement.
Law of conservation of momentum, in a closed Normal reaction force, the force pushing on an
system, the change in momentum is zero. object normal (perpendicular) to the surface.
Leptons, those subatomic particles influenced by Nuclear fission, the division of a nucleus into
the weak interaction force, with the most roughly two equal parts, at the same time
common examples being electrons and neutrinos. emitting one, two or three neutrons.
Light-year (ly), the distance travelled by light in Nuclear fusion, the formation of a single nucleus
one year. Numerically it is equal to 9.5 1015 m. of higher mass by the combination of lighter
Logic circuits, a basic class of digital electronic nuclei. The reaction may also produce high
circuits or ICs that act as switches, latches, energy, neutrons, protons, etc. In the sun four
counters and timers. hydrogen nuclei are fused into a single helium
Luminescence, the property of emitting light, such nucleus in a three step process called the
as from paint containing radioactive radium in proton-proton cycle.
the pigment. Nuclide, used to describe a particular atomic
species, for example C-12.
Magnetic flux density, the total number of
magnetic field lines or flux passing per unit area Ohms law, states that the current flowing through
in a magnetic field. Measured in teslas (T). a conductor is directly proportional to the
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a diagnostic potential difference applied across the ends of
medical imaging technique using the magnetic the conductor, provided that temperature and
properties of the hydrogen atoms present in the other physical factors are kept constant.
various body tissues. Operational amplifier, a linear IC representing a
Manometer, instrument for measuring liquid and very high gain voltage amplifier designed to
gas pressures of moderate range in the amplify signals over a wide frequency range. An
laboratory. A U-tube manometer is partially filled example is the 741 Op Amp.
with a liquid such as mercury or water. Overtones, integer multiples of the fundamental
Mass, a characteristic of a bodys resistance to vibration frequency. Also called harmonics, they
motion. Also called inertia. play a large part in musical instrument sound
Mass defect, the mass that has been converted to quality.
binding energy, that is, energy that binds the
nuclear particles together. Parallel connection, circuit connections that allow
Mass spectrometer, an instrument used to multiple circuit paths that branch and join, with
separate gaseous ions or isotopes in a magnetic a common voltage drop across each component.
field according to their mass differences. Pascals principle, pressure applied at any point to
Matter waves, the wavelike behaviour of matter as a fluid in a closed vessel is transmitted equally
exhibited by subatomic particles. Originally to every other point in the fluid.
suggested by Louis de Broglie. Periodic motion, one in which the object travels
Mechanical waves, waves that require an elastic over the same path in a repetitive manner; for
medium for the transfer of energy. example, a pendulum, with a given period
Microscopy, the technique of using optical or measured in seconds.
electron waves to view very small objects. Photoelectric effect, the process whereby
Primary types are the light microscope, SEM, TEM electrons are emitted by a metal when
and STM. illuminated by light of sufficiently high photon
Moderator, a substance that slows neutrons around energy.
the reactor core. Examples are carbon (graphite), Photovoltaic cells, semiconductor materials that
water, heavy water (D2O), or liquid sodium. provide direct conversion of the Suns radiation
Momentum, a vector quantity, being the product of into electrical energy. Most common are the
a scalar (mass) and a vector (velocity). various types of silicon solar cells.
Glossary 773
Polariser, a device that allows only one component Reverberation time, the time it takes for the
of the electromagnetic field to pass through. sound intensity to fall to one millionth of its
Crossed polarisers will not allow any energy original intensity, that is, to fall by 60 dB.
through. RMS, the root mean square method of measuring
Potentiometer, a variable resistor, usually AC voltage magnitudes, which represents the
containing three connection points, that is used equivalent DC rating in terms of resistance
as a voltage divider. energy dissipation.
Power, a measure of the rate of energy output. It Rotational inertia, is different from mass because
has the units joules per second or watts. for a rotating object not all the mass is
Presbyopia, the inability to focus on distant or travelling at the same speed the outside goes
close objects a mixture of hypermetropia faster than the inside. How the mass is
(long-sightedness) and myopia (short- distributed in that object will determine how
sightedness). difficult it is to start or stop the object
Pressure, the force per unit area acting on a rotating.
surface, measured in N m2 or pascals (Pa). Scalar quantities, those that do not include a
Proper time, time of an event as measured by direction; for example, mass.
observers for which the event occurs at one Schwartzschild radius, the minimum distance from
place. Contrast this with dilated time (t) or which it is still just possible to escape from a
relativistic time. Dilated time is longer than black hole. The boundary is called the event
proper time. horizon.
Scientific notation, a shorthand means of
Quantum mechanics, the mathematical model expressing numbers and is often called
including wave equations, electron positional exponential notation; for example, 3.5 1020.
probability and the uncertainty principle, that is Order of magnitude is the nearest power of ten.
the basis of the modern description of the atom. Scintigraphy, the process of using gamma
Quarks, the fundamental building blocks of hadron radiation to form images of body organs and
particles held together with gauge boson force tissues following injection of a suitable
particles called gluons. The Standard Model radiopharmaceutical compound. The process
allows for eight gluons and six quarks. uses a gamma camera.
Scintillation, impacts of charged subatomic
Radiation, energy travelling through space. It can particles on a fluorescent screen or within a
be transmitted in the form of waves, or as crystal in which flashes of light occur.
energetic particles. Semiconductor, crystalline material made from
Radioactive decay, the break-up of nuclei by doped silicon in either P-type or N-type modes.
either natural or artificially induced means. These materials show a decrease in resistance as
Range, the horizontal displacement of a projectile temperature rises.
moving in a gravity field. Series connection, circuit connections that allow
Rare earth magnets, those modern materials made only single path current flow with the same
from rare earth element alloys that are very current through each component.
strongly ferromagnetic; for example, neodymium Significant figures, those integers of a
iron boride. measurement known with certainty plus the next
Reactance, the AC equivalent of resistance, a integer.
property that is dependent on circuit frequency. Simple harmonic motion, periodic motion in
Types include both capacitive and inductive. which the displacement is proportional to the
Rectification, a process using semiconductor force but in the opposite direction.
diodes to convert AC voltages to DC voltages. Solar design, the principles of dwelling
Refracting telescope, consists of two convex construction that increase the use of solar
lenses. The objective lens has a long focal length energy efficient design. Include both passive and
and the eyepiece lens has a short focal length. active design elements.
These lenses are set up so their focal points Sound, a form of energy produced by the vibrations
coincide. of objects and carried by longitudinal mechanical
Refraction, the bending of waves at the boundary waves. Characteristics include pitch, quality,
or interface, as they go from one medium to timbre and frequency range.
another. Special relativity, the laws of physics have the
Regular or specular reflection, occurs when same form in all inertial reference frames, and
parallel rays incident on a surface are reflected that light propagates through empty space with
parallel. Reflection may also be diffuse. a definite speed (c) independent of the speed of
Resonance, occurs when a body vibrates at its the source or observer.
natural frequency, or a circuit oscillates at one Specific gravity (SG), defined as the ratio of the
particular frequency. mass of an object in air compared with the mass
Rest length, the distance as measured by an of an equal volume of water. Also called relative
observer at rest to the measuring instrument. density.

Specific heat capacity (c), defined as the amount Total internal reflection, occurs when light
of energy required to raise the temperature of travelling from a more optically dense to a less
one kilogram of a substance by one degree optically dense medium is reflected from the
Celsius or by one kelvin. interface rather than transmitted.
Specific latent heat of fusion, the amount of Transformer, an electrical device using mutual
energy required to melt one kilogram of a induction between a primary and a secondary
substance at its melting point. coil to achieve AC voltage level changes.
Specific latent heat of vaporisation, the amount Transistor, an active three terminal semiconductor
of energy to change one kilogram of a substance device used to switch and/or amplify electrical
from a liquid to a gas, at its boiling point. signals.
Spherical aberration, the inability of a convex lens Transverse waves, waves where each point of the
or a concave mirror to focus light to a precise wave vibrates perpendicularly to the direction
point. the wave is travelling.
Split-ring commutator, a special contact assembly
on a rotating coil shaft that allows the direction Ultrasonography, process of using ultrasonic sound
of current to be reversed every half-cycle in a waves to probe the bodies of patients in
motor or a generator. medicine or properties of materials in
Square wave clock, a digital IC producing a square engineering and physics.
wave voltage signal output used in precision Ultraviolet radiation, electromagnetic energy
timing processes. whose wavelengths stretch from 400 nm down to
Standard Model, summarises the known 1.0 nm. Classified into 3 bands, UV-A, -B, -C. The
constituents of matter as well as the interactions cause of serious sunburn or skin cancer.
between them. Consists of two parts called the Uncertainty, a measure of how confidently a
electroweak theory and quantum chromody- measurement or result can be stated. It is a
namics. direct result of the limitations of an instrument.
Stroboscope, an instrument, which in its most Uncertainty principle, Heisenbergs quantum
common form consists of a xenon flash tube mechanical principle, which states the
similar to that found in a camera flash. It can be impossibility of very accurately measuring both
made to flash at variable rates from about one the position and the momentum of a
hertz to many kilohertz. fundamental particle at the same time.
Strong force, that which binds adjacent nucleons Unified atomic mass unit (u), one twelfth the
together. It is a very short-ranged force, which mass of an atom of the carbon isotope of atomic
decreases rapidly as nuclear separation increases. mass 12.0000 (that is, 12C). The unified mass
Superposition, the process of creating a resulting unit includes the masses of the six electrons of
waveform by adding the displacements, from the carbon atom: 1 u = 1.6606 1027 kg.
the equilibrium positions of two interacting
waves. Vector quantity, one that requires both magnitude
and direction for its specification.
Temperature, of an object is a measure of the Velocity, the rate of change of displacement with
average kinetic energy of its particles. time.
Terminal velocity, when the speed of an object Voltage divider, a circuit type using a
falling through a fluid becomes constant. potentiometer or various discrete resistors to
Thermal conductivity (k), of any material is a divide a source of voltage into smaller values.
measure of the rate of flow of heat through one Voltage regulator, a circuit that achieves very high
square metre of a one metre thick layer of the stability of a DC output voltage. Often uses a
material which has a temperature difference of three terminal linear IC.
one kelvin between each side. Voltmeter, an instrument for measuring potential
Thermal energy, the sum of the kinetic and difference or voltage.
potential energies of all the particles of a
substance. Wavelength (), the minimum distance between
Thermal neutrons, or slow neutrons, as distinct two points on the wave that are in phase.
from high energy neutrons, which have to be Wave particle duality, the fact that
slowed down by a moderator if they are to electromagnetic radiation can be simultaneously
initiate any further nuclear reactions. considered as either a wave or as a particle
Time constant, the feature of any RC circuit that stream.
determines the time for the voltage across the Weight, a measure of the force of gravity acting on
capacitor to reach 63% of its final value. Also a mass, which will vary depending on what
occurs in LC circuits. gravitational forces it is being subjected to.
Time dilation, the slowing down of time because Work, defined as the product of the force and the
of the effects of gravity or of high speed motion. distance moved in the direction of the applied
Moving clocks are measured to run slowly. force. It is measured in joules.
Glossary 775
Appendix-Walding 4th 25/8/04 10:09 AM Page 776
Appendices
A p p e n d i x 1 S Y S T E M E I N T E R N AT I O N A L ( S I ) S TA N DA R D U N I T S O F
MEASUREMENT AND THEIR DEFINITIONS
PHYSICAL QUANTITY NAME UNIT SYMBOL

Length metre m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
Amount of substance mole mol
Luminous intensity candela cd
Density kilogram per cubic metre kg m3

Velocity metre per second m s1
Acceleration metre per second squared m s2
Momentum kilogram metre per second kg m s1
Frequency hertz Hz (1 Hz = 1 s1)
Force newton N (1 N = 1 kg m s2)
Pressure pascal Pa (1 Pa = 1 N m2)
Energy, work joule J (1 J = 1 N m)
Power watt W (1 W = 1 J s1)
Electric charge coulomb C (1 C = 1 A s)
Electric potential volt V (1 V = 1 J C1)
Electric resistance ohm (1 = 1 V A1)
Moment of force newton metre Nm

Heat capacity joule per kelvin J K1
Specific heat capacity joule per kilogram per kelvin J kg1 K1
Specific latent heat joule per kilogram J kg1
Electric field strength volt per metre V m1
Electric resistivity ohm metre m
Celsius temperature degree Celsius C

Pressure standard atmosphere 1 atm (1 atm = 101 325 Pa)
Power of lens dioptre D (1 D = 1 m1)
Electric energy kilowatt hour kWh

Appendix 2 METRIC PREFIXES AND THEIR ORIGINS
PREFIX ABBREVIATION MEANING ORIGIN

exa E 1018 Greek exa out of
peta P 1015 Greek peta spread out
tera T 1012 Greek teratos monster
giga G 109 Greek gigas giant
mega M 106 Greek mega great
kilo k 103 Greek khilioi thousand
hecto h 102 Greek hekaton hundred
deca da 101 Greek deka ten
baseunit 100
deci d 101 Latin decimus tenth
centi c 102 Latin centum hundred
milli m 103 Latin mille thousand
micro 106 Greek mikros very small
nano n 109 Greek nanos dwarf
pico p 1012 Italian piccolo small
femto f 1015 Greek femten fifteen
atto a 1018 Danish atten eighteen
A p p e n d i x 3 P H Y S I C A L C O N S TA N T S
QUANTITY SYMBOL APPROXIMATE VALUE

Speed of light in a vacuum c 3.00 108 m s1
Gravitational constant G 6.67 1011 N m2 kg2
Coulombs constant k 9.00 109 N m2 C2
Charge on electron e 1.60 1019 C
Charge on proton e 1.60 1019 C
Electron mass me 9.11 1031 kg
Proton mass mp 1.673 1027 kg
Neutron mass mn 1.675 1027 kg
Atomic mass unit u 1.660 1027 kg
Boltzmanns constant k 1.38 1023 JK1
Plancks constant h 6.63 1034 Js
Avagodros number Na 6.02 1023 mol1
Magnetic constant k 2.0 107 N A2
Electron volt eV 1.6 1019 J
Appendices 777
Appendix 4 THE GREEK ALPHABET

A alpha I iota P rho
B beta K kappa sigma
gamma lambda T tau
delta M mu upsilon
E epsilon N nu phi
Z zeta xi chi
H eta O omicron psi
theta pi omega
A p p e n d i x 5 U S E F U L C O N V E R S I O N FA C TO R S
Mass Velocity
1 tonne = 103 kg 1 km h1 = 0.2778 m s1
1 a.m.u. = 1.6606 1027 kg
Length Angle
1 km = 103 m 1 rad = 57.295
1 cm = 102 m
1 mm = 103 m
1 = 0.0175 rad
1 m = 106 m
1 nm = 109 m
Volume Frequency
1 litre (L) = 1000 cm3 = 103 m3 1 Hz = 1 cycle s1
1 gallon (US) = 3.7854 L 1
1 rev min = 0.0167 Hz
1 gallon (UK) = 4.5461 L
Density Force
1 g cm3 = 103 kg m3 1 N = 1 kg m s2
Time
Pressure
1 min = 60 s
1 Pa = 1 N m2
1h = 60 min = 3600 s
1 atm = 1.013 105 Pa = 760 Torr
1 solar day = 24 h = 1440 min = 86 400 s
= 760 mmHg

A p p e n d i x 6 P E R I O D I C TA B L E O F T H E E L E M E N T S
IA
1 2
H He
Hydrogen Helium
1.008 II A Key III A IV A VA VI A VII A 4.003
3 4 6 Atomic number 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be C Symbol B C N O F Ne
Lithium Beryllium Carbon Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
12.01
Atomic mass
6.941 9.012 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Sodium Magnesium Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
22.99 24.31 III B IV B VB VI B VII B VIII IB II B 26.98 28.09 30.97 32.06 35.45 39.95
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
39.10 40.06 44.96 47.90 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.70 63.55 65.38 69.72 72.59 74.92 78.96 79.90 83.80
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94 (97) 101.1 102.9 106.4 107.9 112.4 114.8 118.7 121.8 127.6 126.9 131.3
55 56 571 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Cesium Barium Lanthanum Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
132.9 137.3 138.9 178.5 180.9 183.9 186.2 190.2 192.2 195.1 197.0 200.6 204.4 207.2 209.0 (209) (210) (222)
87 88 892 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116
Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Uuu Uub Uut Uuq Uup Uuh
Francium Radium Actinium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium
(223) 226.0 (227) (257) (260) (263) (262) (269) (268) (271) (272) (285)
58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Lanthanoid Series1 Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium
140.1 140.9 144.2 (145) 150.4 152.0 157.3 158.9 162.5 164.9 167.3 168.9 173.0 175.0
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

Actinoid Series2 Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium
Appendices
232.0 231.0 238.0 237.0 (244) (243) (247) (247) (251) (254) (253) (256) (254) (257)
779
A p p e n d i x 7 R E L AT I V E ATO M I C M A S S E S
NAME SYMBOL ATOMIC RELATIVE NAME SYMBOL ATOMIC RELATIVE

NUMBER ATOMIC NUMBER ATOMIC
MASS MASS
* Actinium Ac 89 (227) Mercury Hg 80 200.6
Aluminium Al 13 27.0 Molybdenum Mo 42 95.9
* Americium Am 95 (243) Neodymium Nd 60 144.2
Antimony Sb 51 121.8 Neon Ne 10 20.2
Argon Ar 18 39.9 * Neptunium Np 93 (237)
Arsenic As 33 74.9 Nickel Ni 28 58.7
* Astatine At 85 (210) Niobium Nb 41 92.9
Barium Ba 56 137.3 Nitrogen N 7 14.0
* Berkelium Bk 97 (247) * Nobelium No 102 (259)
Beryllium Be 4 9.0 Osmium Os 76 190.2
Bismuth Bi 83 209.0 Oxygen O 8 16.0
Boron B 5 10.8 Palladium Pd 46 106.4
Bromine Br 35 79.9 Phosphorus P 15 31.0
Cadmium Cd 48 112.4 Platinum Pt 78 195.1
Caesium Cs 55 132.9 * Plutonium Pu 94 (244)
Calcium Ca 20 40.1 * Polonium Po 84 (209)
* Californium Cf 98 (251) Potassium K 19 39.1
Carbon C 6 12.0 Praseodymium Pr 59 140.9
Cerium Ce 58 140.1 * Promethium Pm 61 (145)
Chlorine Cl 17 35.5 * Protactinium Pa 91 (231)
Chromium Cr 24 52.0 * Radium Ra 88 (226)
Cobalt Co 27 58.9 * Radon Rn 86 (222)
Copper Cu 29 63.5 Rhenium Re 75 186.2
* Curium Cm 96 (247) Rhodium Rh 45 102.9
Dysprosium Dy 66 162.5 Rubidium Rb 37 85.5
* Einsteinium Es 99 (254) Ruthenium Ru 44 101.1
Erbium Er 68 167.3 Rutherfordium Rf 104 261
Europium Eu 63 152.0 Samarium Sm 62 150.4
* Fermium Fm 100 (257) Scandium Sc 21 45.0
Fluorine F 9 19.0 Selenium Se 34 79.0
* Francium Fr 87 (223) Silicon Si 14 28.1
Gadolinium Gd 64 157.3 Silver Ag 47 107.9
Gallium Ga 31 69.7 Sodium Na 11 23.0
Germanium Ge 32 72.6 Strontium Sr 38 87.6
Gold Au 79 197.0 Sulfur S 16 32.1
Hafnium Hf 72 178.5 Tantalum Ta 73 180.9

A p p e n d i x 7 C o n t d
NAME SYMBOL ATOMIC RELATIVE NAME SYMBOL ATOMIC RELATIVE
NUMBER ATOMIC NUMBER ATOMIC
MASS MASS
Helium He 2 4.0 * Technetium Tc 43 (98)
Holmium Ho 67 164.9 Tellurium Te 52 127.6
Hydrogen H 1 1.0 Terbium Tb 65 158.9
Indium In 49 114.8 Thallium Tl 81 204.4
Iodine I 53 126.9 * Thorium Th 90 232.0
Iridium Ir 77 192.2 Thulium Tm 69 168.9
Iron Fe 26 55.8 Tin Sn 50 118.7
Krypton Kr 36 83.8 Titanium Ti 22 47.9
Lanthanum La 57 138.9 Tungsten W 74 183.9
* Lawrencium Lr 103 (260) * Uranium U 92 238.0
Lead Pb 82 207.2 Vanadium V 23 50.9
Lithium Li 3 6.9 Xenon Xe 54 131.3
Lutetium Lu 71 175.0 Ytterbium Yb 70 173.0
Magnesium Mg 12 24.3 Yttrium Y 39 88.9
Manganese Mn 25 54.9 Zinc Zr 30 65.4
* Mendelevium Md 101 (256) Zirconium Zr 40 91.2
* Unstable elements.
Value in brackets is the mass number of the isotope with the longest half-life.
Appendices 781
A p p e n d i x 8 P R O P E RT I E S O F T H E N U C L I D E S
Z = atomic number = number of protons
A = atomic mass = number of protons plus neutrons
M = exact mass of the nuclide including electrons (in u)
Z A M Z A M
1e 0 0.000549 36Kr 84 83.911505
0n 1 1.008665 90 89.9197
1p 1 1.007276 91 90.923
92 91.92182
37Rb 90 89.9148
1H 1 1.007825 38Sr 88 87.905628
2 2.014102 90 89.90775
3 3.016050 93 92.9142
2He 3 3.016030 94 93.9154
4 4.002603 42Mo 100 99.9076
6 6.018893 47Ag 107 106.905091
8 8.034 108 107.905953
3Li 6 6.015124 48Cd 113 112.904408
7 7.016004 49In 115 114.90387
8 8.022487 116 115.90553
9 9.02680 50Sn 116 115.90179
4Be 6 6.01972 52Te 137 136.910
7 7.016929 54Xe 135 134.91350
9 9.012186 55Cs 130 129.90676
5B 8 8.024609 135 134.90590
10 10.012938 56Ba 136 135.90456
11 11.009305 141 140.91402
6C 9 9.03104 143 142.921
10 10.01686 144 143.923
11 11.011432 81Tl 208 207.98201
12 12.000000 82Pb 206 205.97447
13 13.003354 208 207.97666
14 14.003242 83Bi 212 211.99128
7N 12 12.01864 84Po 212 211.988865
13 13.005738 216 216.00192
14 14.003074 86Rn 220 220.01139
8O 13 13.0248 222 222.01761
16 15.994915 88Ra 224 224.02020
17 16.999133 226 226.02544
18 17.999161 228 228.03110
11Na 22 21.994437 89Ac 228 228.03104
23 22.989771 91Pa 234 234.04342
24 23.990964 92U 233 233.03965
13Al 27 26.981541 234 234.04098
15P 30 29.97832 235 235.04394
31 30.973765 236 236.04559
32 31.973909 238 238.05082
16S 35 34.969033 239 239.05433
17Cl 36 35.968307 93Np 239 239.05295
19K 40 39.964000 94Pu 239 239.05218
28Ni 61 60.93106 240 240.05384
64 63.92796 241 241.05687
29Cu 64 63.929757 95Am 239 239.05304
30Zn 64 63.929140 241 241.05685
65 64.92923

Index-Walding 25/8/04 1:54 PM Page 783
Index
555 timer IC 537 apparent depth 408

741 op-amp IC 722, 536 Archimedes principle 171
absolute refractive index 402 Aristotle 112, 597
absolute zero 257 astable multivibrator 538
absorbed dose 751 astigmatism 432
AC induction motor 568 astrology 157
AC reactance 711, 713 astronomical distances 135
AC ripple 520 atom,
acceleration, mass 611, 613
centripetal 154 structure 607, 609
defined 33 atomic force microscope (AFM) 747
gravitational 41 aurorae 556
instantaneous 35 Avogadro, Amedo 259
accuracy 17 Avogadro, hypothesis 259
achromatic doublet 426 ballet 186
acoustics 373 ballistics 116
action potentials 474 balloons 176
active device 528 barometer
ADC DAC 525, 526 aneroid 168
alternating current (AC) 470 manometer 168
alternator 584, 585 mercury 168
ammeters 482 baseball 194
Amontons law 257 beat frequency 362
Ampere 469, 564 Becquerel, Henri. 603
amplifier Becquerel, unit 626
(AC voltage) 717 Bell, Alexander Graham 364
(DC-direct current) 529 bends, diving178
audio 366, 723 big bang 707
class A 718 billiards 207
operational (op-amp) 535, 536, 721 binary signals 527, 727
amusement park 226 binding energy, 613
analog signal 525 bits and bytes 526
angle of, black body radiation 655
incidence 388, 401, 384 black hole 143, 156
reflection 384, 388 Bohr atom 659
refraction 401 Bohr, Neils 609
antimatter 669 Boltzmann, Ludwig 259
aphelion 149 Boltzmanns constant 259
apogee 149 boson particles 667, 669
Index 783
Bourdon gauge 167 corner reflector 387

Boyle, Robert 256 cosmic microwave radiation 138
Boyles law 256 cosmology 672
calorimetry 247 critical angle 409
camber, road 119 Crookes, William 598
camera systems 434 Crookes
capacitors and capacitance 509, 720 radiometer 655
cars tube 598
accidents 101 Curie temperature 552
battery 174 Curie, Marie 603
brakes 96 Curie, Pierre 603
collisions 190 current amplification (gain) 529
road camber 116 curved mirrors 387, 396
torque 202 cyclotron accelerator 571
tyres 166, 229 Dalton, John 597
Cartesian diver 175 dark matter 671
cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO) 503 Darlington pair 530
Celsius, Anders 243 data projector 371
centre of curvature 388, 419 data-logger 48, 502
centre of mass 184 DC bell, buzzer 561
centripetal decibel scale (sound) 364
acceleration 154 defibrillation 494
force 153 Democritus 596
Chadwick, James 608 density 79
Charles, Jacques 257 derived units 7
Charles law 256 deuterons 634
chromatic aberration 426 diamagnetic substance 549
chromosphere 733 dielectric 510
circular motion 149 diffraction 321, 352
non-uniform 120 diffraction, water waves 311
uniform 117 diffuse reflection 385
vertical 117 digital
coefficient, linear expansion 264 counter circuit 726, 727
coherency 323 signal 525
collisions, energy 190, 218, 220 television 371
Coloumb, Charles Augustin 451 direct current (DC) 469
Coloumbs law 453 disintegration 629
compact discs 337, 367, 368 displacement 27
Compton collisions 657 Dolby digital sound 369
Compton, Arthur Holly 657 Doppler effect 374, 376
computed tomography (CT) 754 Doppler ultrasonography 748
concrete 167 dose equivalent 751
conductivity double insulated 490
heat 272 drag coefficient 89
thermal 274 DVD (digital versatile disc) 369
conductors and insulators 448 Earths magnetism 555
conservation of charge 447 echogenicity 748
convection 276 eddy currents 587
conventional current 469 efficiency 212
conversions 9 Einstein, Albert 636, 656
Copernicus 134 electric

ammeter voltmeter 482 rest 700

chair 497 thermal 241
charge 444, 450 entropy 251
circuit 469 equations of motion 38
current 451 equipotentials 458
fence 497 errors
field 454 absolute 18
fish and eels 461 random 15
motors 566 relative 18
systematic 15
potential 456,457 evaporation 250
shock 493 explosions 189, 198
electrical Faraday, Michael 576
generators 583 Faradays law 578
power 488 feedback resistor 536
power transmission 588 ferromagnetic substance 549
resistance 474 fire walking 275
signals 524 fish 175
electrochemical series 471 floating 173
electrolyte 467 fluids 164
electromagnetic fluorescence 342
circuit breaker (ELCB RCD) 491 focal length 388, 419
induction 576 force
relay 514 centripetal
torque 564 strong 620
electromagnetism 557 balanced 75
electromagnets 557, 560 angled 214
electromotive force (emf) 471 planar 217
electron forensic science 196
drift velocity 468 Fosbury flop 187
flow 469 frames of reference 681, 685
gun (CRO) 462 Franck-Hertz experiment 661
electronic resistors 506 fraunhofer lines 732
electron-volt (eV) 459 freefall
electrophorus 451 cats 90
electroscope 450 motion 45, 84
electrostatic raindrops 91
induction 450 cats 208
potential energy 457 Fresnel, Augustine 327
elevation angle 111 friction 95-97
energy full scale deflection (FSD) 482
level diagram 659 fundamental frequency 354, 356
binding 613 fuse 490
conservation 225 fusion, latent heat 248
defined 211 Galileo 112, 435
EPE 230 Galvani, Luigi 466
GPE 222 galvanometers 482, 566
internal 241 gamma rays 342
kinetic 212, 216 gas laws 255, 258
potential 212 general relativity 701
relativistic 700 graph types 65-68
Index 785
graphs v/t 36 kilowatt hour (kW h) 488

graphs, d/t 31 kinetic theory, gases 254
gravitation, Newtons law Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert 480
gravitational Kirchhoffs laws 480
field 155 Larmor frequency 756
force 654 laser 383
lensing 704 latent heat
red shift 706 fusion 248
gravitron 120 vaporisation 249
greenhouse effect 733 lateral inversion 386
Grimaldi, Francesco 327 Lego RCX brick 541
guns, bullets 205 length 5
hadron therapy 753 contraction 692
hadrons and leptons 667 proper 692
half life 626 lens formula 423
harmonics 354, 357, 358, 356 lenses, biconcave and biconvex 418
hearing range 351 Lenzs law 580
heat flow 273 light
heat sink 716 dependent resistor (LDR) 519, 531
home theatre systems 367 emitting diode (LED) 518
Hooke, Robert 231 pressure 658
Hookes law 231 rays 382
household electricity 489 reflection 384
Hubble space telescope 151 refraction 400, 407
Hubbles law 137 waves 320, 338
human eye 429 gravitational deflection 704
human nervous system 473 speed 684
Huygens, Christian 307 Lippershey, Hans 435
Huygens principle 306 liquid crystal display (LCD) 344
hydraulic press 170 logic circuits 724, 725
hydrometer 174 loudspeaker systems 366, 564
hydrostatics 164 lubricants 97
ignition coil 586 luminous object 382
impulse 188 magnetic
inclined planes 91-93, 100 bottle 571
inductors and inductance 513 constant 559
inertia 204 domains 551
infrasound 351 induction 550
insulator, heat 273, 280 materials 548, 551
integrated circuit (IC) 524, 534, 537 monopoles 553
interference 321, 352 poles 549
sound 315 resonance imaging (MRI) 756
water waves 311 spin 552
internal resistance 477 magnetosphere 555
isotherms 280 magnets (rare earth) 549
isotopes 610 mass
Joliot, Frederick, 604 centre of 184
Joule, James 241 defined 6
Kelvin, Lord 243 defect 612, 636
Kennedy assassination 196, 197 spectrometer 570
Keplers laws 145 matter waves 665

Maxwell, James Clerk 338 meltdown 637

Maxwells screw rule 558 moderator 639
medical isotopes 748, 750 power 637
metallic lattice 467 reactor 638
Michelson-Morley experiment 685 stability 614
microcontroller 539 subcritical 639
micrometer 20 transmutations 620
microphones 365, 585 waste 641
microprocessor (CPU) 524 nucleons 614
microscope 438 nucleus 610
microwaves 341 nuclide 610
Millikan, Robert 455, 600 octave 354
Millikans experiment 600 Ohm, Georg Simon 475
mirage 413 Ohms law 475
mirror formula 393 ohmic conductors 480
mirrors, concave and convex 387 Olbers paradox 135
mirrors, plane (flat) 383 optical
momentum density 401
angular 203-206 fibres 411
conservation 189 images, curved mirrors 389
defined 187 images, lenses 421
monochromatic 323 images, plane mirrors 386
Montgolfier brothers 175 magnification 391, 423
motor principle 562 power (dioptre) 419
multimeter 484, 501 prisms 411
multiple earth neutral system (MEN) 489 wedges 336
mutual induction 586 order of magnitude 14
myopia and hypermetropia 431 overtones 354, 356
neutrinos 669 ozone layer 741
neutron parallel connection 472
star 143, 205 paramagnetic substance 549
discovery 608 particle accelerator 571
Newton, Isaac 148 Pascal, Blaise 165
Newtons Pascal, unit 165
1st Law 76 Pascals principle 169
2nd Law 80 Pauli exclusion principle 659
3rd Law 83 peak voltage 504
law of gravitation 148 pendulum 127, 128
rings 336 pendulum, ballistic 227
nodal lines 314, 323, 324, 328 perihelion 149
nuclear phase change 333
applications 648 phase, waves 291
chain reaction 637 photoelectric effect 656
Chernobyl 642 photons 656
control rods 639 photosphere 732
coolant 639 photothermal devices 735
fast breeder 638, 640 photovoltaic devices 734, 738
fission 634 PIC microchip 540
fuel 639 piezo electric crystals 747
fusion 634, 643, 732 pitchblende 603
medicine 748 Planck, Max 655
Index 787
Plancks constant 655 RC filters 512

PN junction diode 517 recessional velocity (RV) 663
polarisation 343 record player 123
polychromatic 327 rectification 519
positron 621 red shift 706
positron emission tomography (PET) 758 reflection, waves 290, 308
positronium 145 refraction, water 309
potential difference 457, 472, 471 relative motion
potentiometer (rheostat) 477 relative refractive index 405
power 223 relativity
power supply 502 general 701
precision 17 simultaneity 687
pressure special 680
blood 169 resistor colour code 507
depth 177 resistors 508
types 165 resonance 361
principal axis 388, 419 restitution 221
principal focus 388, 419 Ride, Sally 161
projectiles 109 RLC resonance & circuits 710
proton, discovery 608 robolab 542
pulleys 93 robotics 539
quantum rockets 197
chromodynamics (QCD) 667 rods and cones 430
mechanics 654, 659, 665 Roentgen, Willhelm. 602
orbitals 659 Rutherford, Ernest 605
quarks 455, 669 sampling rate 526
quicksand 175 satellites 150, 152
radar 341 scalar quantity 27
radiation scanning electron microscope (SEM) 746
therapy 752 scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) 747
absorbed dose 645 scientific notation 10
background 646, 651 scintigraphy 748
biological effect 645 seismic wave 310
emr 278 self inductance 513
heat 278 self-induction 577
ionizing 605 semiconduction 515
magnetic effect 606 semiconductor biasing 517
penetrating 605, 616 semiconductor doping 516
quality factor 646 semiconductors 449
radiolytic 648 series connection 472
risks 646 ships 175
Sievert 646 shunt resistor 482
radio pharmaceuticals 748, 750 SI units 3
radioactive dating 632 significant figures 12
radioactivity 604 silicon (N and P types) 516
decay 621, 623, 625 simple cell (battery) 470
detectors 604, 617 single photon emission computes tomogra-
laws 628 phy (SPECT) 757
rainbow 413 slide projector 439
range 111, 113 Snell, Willebrod 402
Rayleigh criterion 331 Snells law 402

solar stroboscope 21
cell 518, 738 stroboscope, water waves 306
collectors 736 strong nuclear force 654
corona 733 subwoofer 367
design (passive and active) 735 Sun (Sol) 731
radiation 733 superman 233
winds 556 superposition, waves 294
solenoid 559, 561, 579 tank oscillator 715
sound 350 telescope
barrier 377 Galilean 437
intensity 363 reflecting 437
special relativity 680, 686 refracting 436
specific terrestrial 436
gravity 171 temperature 242
heat 245 Celsius 242
spectral dispersion 406 Fahrenheit 243
spectroscopy 662 Kelvin 243
specular reflection 385 Tesla, Nicola 554
speed thermal expansion 263
average 29 thermistor 519
instantaneous 35 thermodynamics, defined 241
spherical aberration 395, 425 thermodynamics, laws 251
sphygmomanometer 169 thermography 278
spin dryer 120 thermometers 244
sport thermos flask 279
squash 128 Thompson, J.J. 598, 600
tennis 128 thyristor (SCR) 531
boats 71 ticker timer 46
ballet 186 time 5
baseball 296 time
basketball 194 constant 512, 513
bicycles 81, 208 dilated 691
billiards 207 proper 691, 693
cars 48, 118, 124, 166, 170, 208 variability 688
cricket 128 torque 202
diving 178, 205 total internal reflection 409
jumping 187 trains 229
parachute 89 transformer 586
planes 81 transistor
running 228 biasing 719
shooting 192 DC switch 530
shotput 194 field effect (FET) 532
skiing 208 power 716
soccer 221 structure 528
tennis 220, 296 transmission electron microscope (TEM)
walking 228 746
spring constant 125, 231 triboelectric series 446
square wave clock 537 trombe wall 736
standard model of particle physics 654, tuning circuits 715
667, 668 tweeter 367
standards 4 twin paradox 695
stepper motors 568 ultrasonic 355
Index 789
ultrasonic waves 747 television and radio 339

ultraviolet radiation (UV) 740 characteristics 287
uncertainty 16 EMR 284
uncertainty principle 666 graphs 297
universe longitudinal 286
baryogenesis 141 mechanical 284
universe ripple tank 305
dark matter 142 seismic 310
inflation 141 standing 295
nucleosynthesis 142 superposition 294
valence electrons 467 transverse 286
Van Allen, James 556 water 305
Van de Graaff generator 448 weak nuclear force 654
vector Weber, Wilhelm 554
addition 57 weight
quantity 27, 56 apparent 87
resolution 62 defined 86
subtraction 60 wimps 671
velocity wind instruments 357
angular 122 work 211, 213
average 29 X-rays 342
escape 152 Young, Thomas 322
instantaneous 35 Zener diode 518
radial 118
tangent 118
relativistic 698
terminal 88
Vernier caliper 20
vertical motion 43
Villard, Paul. 605
virtual image 386
viscosity 164
visible spectrum 320, 339
Volta, Alessandro 466
voltage 471
amplification 721
divider 508
induced 579
regulator 520, 715
root mean square (RMS) 504
voltmeters 482
water, abnormal expansion 268
Watt 488
wave
characteristics 322, 341, 349
equation 289, 656
function generator 722
wave-particle duality 658
waves
electromagnetic 338
infrared and ultraviolet 341
sound 348

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Prelims-Walding 4th 25/8/04 1:55 PM Page i

UNIT 01 MEASUREMENT AND PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

UNIT 03 ENERGY AND MOMENTUM

UNIT 04 THERMAL PHYSICS

UNIT 07 ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRONICS

UNIT 08 MAGNETISM AND ELECTROMAGNETISM

Richard Walding, Greg Rapkins and Glenn Rossiter

2 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Measurement and Physical Quantities 3

4 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Measurement and Physical Quantities 5

6 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Measurement and Physical Quantities 7

Table 1.6 lists some derived quantities.

steel ruler Figure 1.2

8 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Figure 1.3 Part B: Magnetic personality

Measurement and Physical Quantities 9

Step 1: Convert the measurements to SI units (metre):

10 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Measurement and Physical Quantities 11

1.4 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

Rules Is there anything wrong with

12 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Addition and subtraction

Measurement and Physical Quantities 13

1.5 ORDER OF MAGNITUDE

14 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

MAKING AND RECORDING MEASUREMENTS 1.6

VOLTAGE with (See Figure 1.5.)

Photo 1.3a Photo 1.3b

Measurement and Physical Quantities 15

Scale reading limitations

Photo 1.5a Photo 1.5b Figure 1.9

16 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

12 36.0 0.5C 25.5 0.5C = 10.5 1.0C

Area = length width

Accuracy and precision

Measurement and Physical Quantities 17

Calculate the relative error at 80 km/h.

18 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

In 1783 William Shanks reported

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS 1.7

Measurement and Physical Quantities 19

The micrometer screw gauge Figure 1.12

Activity 1.6 THE VERNIER CALIPER

20 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

The digital counter

Photo 1.7 Photo 1.8

Measurement and Physical Quantities 21

22 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

(a) What absolute error is associated with each reading?

Extension Complex, challenging and novel

Measurement and Physical Quantities 23

24 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

Activity 2.1 SPEEDOMETER Photo 2.1

26 New Century Senior Physics: Concepts in Context

5 Does your odometer measure to the nearest kilometre or tenth of a kilometre?

Activity 2.2 SEWING MACHINE

Activity 2.3 VIDEO RECORDER

A knowledge of physics enables us to analyse all types of motion. Without accurate

Motion in a Straight Line 27

Representation of vector quantities

1 The formula for cell B2 would be = (0.5 * 9.8A2A2) for example.